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Edited by PAl 



House Decora 

With 79 En* 

Contents. — Col 

Painters. How 

and Decorating 

Walls and Ceilin, 

Boot Making a 

179 Engravi 
Contents. — Re] 
and Re-Soling, 
the Heel. Knifi: 




ies. 



Class. 
Book_ 



Copyright! , 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT, 



chnical Instruction 



sing, Painting, etc. 

s, etc. Tools used by 
iting. Whitewashing 
q. Embellishment of 

md Finishing. With 

i Shoes. Re-Welting 
i Stitching. Making 
oes. 

/ings and Diagrams, 
e Signwriter's Outfit. 
Forms of Lettering, 
riting. Poster-Paint- 



hing. With Engrav- 



Jood. 
ng Off. 



French Polish- 
Glazing and 



How to Write ! 

Contents. — Th( 
Making Signboa 
Shaded and Fan 
ing. Lettering a 
Wood Finishin 
ings and D'v c 

Contents. — Pre 
ing. Fillers for 

Wax Finishing. Oil Polishing and Dry Shining. Re-polishing and Reviving. Hard 
Stopping or Beaumontage. Treatment of Floor-Stains. Processes of Varnishing Wood 
Varnishes. Re-polishing Shop Fronts. 
Dynamos and Electric Motors. With 142 Engravings and Diagrams. 

Contents. — Introduction. Siemens Dynamo. Gramme Dynamo. Manchester Dynamo. 
Simplex Dynamo. Calculating the Size and Amount of Wire for Small Dynamos. 
Ailments of Small Dynamo Electric Machines: their Causes and Cures. Small Electro- 
motors without Castings. How to Determine the Direction of Rotation of a Motor. 
How to Make a Shuttle-Armature Motor. Undertype 50-Watt Dynamo. Manchester 
Type 440-Watt Dynamo 
Cycle Building and Repairing. With 142 Engravings and Diagrams. 

Contents. — Introductory, and Tools Used. How to Build a Front Driver. Building a 
Rear-driving Safety. Building Tandem Safeties. Building Front-driver Tricycle. Build- 
ing a Hand Tricycle. Brazing. How to Make and Fit Gear Cases. Fittings and Accesso- 
ries. Wheel Making. Tires and Methods of Fixing them. Enamelling. Repairing. 
Decorative Signs of All Ages for All Purposes. With 277 Engravings and Diagrams. 

Contents. — Savage Ornament. Egyptian Ornament. Assyrian Ornament. Greek 
Ornament. Roman Ornament. Early Christian Ornament. Arabic Ornament. Celtic 
and Scandinavian Ornaments. Mediaeval Ornament. Renascence and Modern Orna- 
ments. Chinese Ornament. Persian Ornament. Indian Ornament. Japanese Ornament. 
Mounting and Framing Pictures. With 240 Engravings, etc. 

Contents. — Making Picture Frames. Notes on Art Frames. Picture Frame Cramps. 
Making Oxford Frames. Gilding Picture Frames. Methods of Mounting Pictures. 
Making Photograph Frames. Frames covered with Plush and Cork. Hanging and 
Packing Pictures. 

Smiths' Work. With 211 Engravings and Diagrams. 

Contents. — Forges and Appliances. Hand Tools. Drawing Down and Up-setting. 
Welding and Punching. Conditions of Work: Principles of Formation. Bending and 
Ring Making. Miscellaneous Examples of Forged Work. Cranks, Model Work, and 
Die Forging. Home-made Forges. The Manipulation of Steel at the Forge. 

Glass Working by Heat and Abrasion. With 300 Engravings and Diagrams. 

Contents. — Appliances used in Glass Blowing. Manipulating Glass Tubing. Blowing 
Bulbs and Flasks. Jointing Tubes to Bulbs forming Thistle Funnels, etc. Blowing and 
Etching Glass Fancy Articles; Embossing and Gilding Flat Surfaces. Utilising Broken 
Glass Apparatus; Boring Holes in, and Riveting Glass. Hand-working of Telescope 
Specula. Turning, Chipping, and Grinding Glass. The Manufacture of Glass. 

DAVID McKAY, Publisher, Washington Square, Philadelphia. 



HANDICRAFT SERIES [Continued). 

Building Model Boats. With 16« Engravings and Diagrams. 

Contents. — Building Model Yachts. Rigging and Sailing Model Yachts. Making and 
Fitting Simple Model Boats. Building a Model Atlantic Liner. Vertical Engine for a 
Model Launch. Model Launch Engine with Reversing Gear. Making a Show Case for 
a Model Boat. 

Electric Bells, How to 3Iake and Fit Them. With 162 Engravings and Diagrams. 
Contents. — The Electric Current and the Laws that Govern it. Current Conductors 
used in Electric-Bell Work. Wiring for Electric Bells. Elaborated Systems of Wiring; 
Burglar Alarms. Batteries for Electric Bells. The Construction of Electric Bells, Pushes, 
and Switches. Indicators for Electric-Bell Systems. 

Bamboo Work. With 177 Engravings and Diagrams. 

Contents. — Bamboo: Its Sources and Uses. How to Work Bamboo. Bamboo Tables. 
Bamboo Chairs and Seats. Bamboo Bedroom Furniture. Bamboo Hall Racks and Stands. 
Bamboo Music Racks. Bamboo Cabinets and Bookcases. Bamboo Window Blinds. 
Miscellaneous Articles of Bamboo. Bamboo Mail Cart. 

Taxidermy. With 108 Engravings and Diagrams. 

Contents. — Skinning Birds. Stuffing and Mounting Birds. Skinning and Stuffing 
Mammals. Mounting Animals' Horned Heads: Polishing and Mounting Horns. Skin- 
ning, Stuffing, and Casting Fish. Preserving, Cleaning, and Dyeing Skins. Preserving 
Insects, and Birds' Eggs. Cases for Mounting Specimens. 

Tailoring. With 180 Engravings and Diagrams. 

Contents. — Tailors' Requisites and Methods of Stitching. Simple Repairs and Press- 
ing. Relining, Repocketing, and Recollaring. How to Cut and Make Trousers. How 
to Cut and Make Vests. Cutting and Making Lounge and Reefer Jackets. Cutting and 
Making Morning and Frock Coats. 

Photographic Cameras and Accessories. Comprising How to Make Cameras, 
Dark Slides, Shutters, and Stands. With 160 Illustrations. 
Contents. — Photographic Lenses and How to Test them. Modern Half-plate Cameras. 
Hand and Pocket Cameras. Ferrotype Cameras. Stereoscopic Cameras. Enlarging 
Cameras. Dark Slides. Cinematograph Management. 

Optical Lanterns. Comprising The Construction and Management of Optical 
Lanterns and the Making of Slides. With 160 Illustrations. 
Contents. — Single Lanterns. Dissolving View Lanterns. Illuminant for Optical Lan- 
terns. Optical Lantern Accessories. Conducting a Lime-light Lantern Exhibition. Ex- 
periments with Optical Lanterns. Painting Lantern Slides. Photographic Lantern 
Slides. Mechanical Lantern Slides. Cinematograph Management. 

Engraving 3Ietals. With Numerous Illustrations. 

Contents. — Introduction and Terms used. Engravers' Tools and their Uses. Ele- 
mentary Exercises in Engraving. Engraving Plate and Precious Metals. Engraving 
Monograms. Transfer Process of Engraving Metals. Engraving Name Plates. En- 
graving Coffin Plates. Engraving Steel Plates. Chasing and Embossing Metals. Etch- 
ing Metals. 

Basket Work. With 189 Illustrations. 

Contents. — Tools and Materials. Simple Baskets. Grocer's Square Baskets. Round 
Baskets. Oval Baskets. Flat Fruit Baskets. Wicker Elbow Chairs. Basket Bottle- 
casings. Doctors' and Chemists' Baskets. Fancy Basket Work. Sussex Trug Basket. 
Miscellaneous Basket Work. Index. 

Bookbinding. With 125 Engravings and Diagrams. 

Contents. — Bookbinders' Appliances. Folding Printed Book Sheets. Beating ana 
Sewing. Rounding, Backing, and Cover Cutting. Cutting Book Edges. Covering 
Books. Cloth-bound Books, Pamphlets, etc. Account Books, Ledgers, etc. Coloring, 
Sprinkling, and Marbling Book Edges. Marbling Book Papers. Gilding Book Edges. 
Sprinkling and Tree Marbling Book Covers. Lettering, Gilding, and Finishing Book 
Covers. Index. 

Bent Iron Work. Including Elementary Art Metal Work. With 269 Engravings 
and Diagrams. 
Contents. — Tools and Materials. Bending and Working Strip Iron. Simple Exercises 
in Bent Iron. Floral Ornaments for Bent Iron Work. Candlesticks. Hall Lanterns. 
Screens, Grilles, etc. Table Lamps. Suspended Lamps and Flower Bowls. Photo- 
graph Frames. Newspaper Rack. Floor Lamps. Miscellaneous Examples. Index. 

Photography. With Numerous Engravings and Diagrams. 

Contents. — The Camera and its Accessories. The Studio and the Dark Room. Plates. 
Exposure. Developing and Fixing Negatives. Intensification and Reduction of Nega- 
tives. Portraiture and Picture Composition. Flash-light Photography. Retouching 
Negatives. Processes of Printing from Negatives. Mounting and Finishing Prints. 
Copying and Enlarging. Stereoscopic Photography. Ferrotype Photography. 

DAVID McKAY, Publisher, Washington Square, Philadelphia. 



HANDICRAFT SERIES {Coittinued). 



Upholstery. With 162 Engravings and Diagrams. 

Contents. — Upholsterers' Materials. Upholsterers' Tools and Appliances. Webbing, 
Springing, Stuffing, and Tufting. Making Seat Cushions and Squabs. Upholstering an 
Easy Chair. Upholstering Couches and Sofas. Upholstering Footstools, Fenderettes, 
etc. Miscellaneous Upholstery. Mattress Making and Repairing. Fancy Upholstery. 
Renovating and Repairing Upholstered Furniture. Planning and Laying Carpets and 
Linoleum. Index. 

Leather Working. With 162 Engravings and Diagrams. 

Contents. — Qualities and Varieties of Leather. Strap Cutting and Making. Letter 
Cases and Writing Pads. Hair Brush and Collar Cases. Hat Cases. Banjo and Man- 
doline Cases. Bags. Portmanteaux and Travelling Trunks. Knapsacks and Satchels. 
Leather Ornamentation. Footballs. Dyeing Leather. Miscellaneous Examples of 
Leather Work. Index. 

Harness Making. With 197 Engravings and Diagrams. 

Contents. — Harness Makers' Tools. Harness Makers' Materials. Simple Exercises in 
Stitching. Looping. Cart Harness. Cart Collars. Cart Saddles. Fore Gear and Leader 
Harness. Plough Harness. Bits, Spurs, Stirrups, and Harness Furniture. Van and Cab 
Harness. Index. 

Saddlery. With 99 Engravings and Diagrams. 

Contents. — Gentleman's Riding Saddle. Panel for Gentleman's Saddle. Ladies' Side 
Saddles. Children's Saddles or Pilches. Saddle Cruppers, Breastplates, and other 
Accessories. Riding Bridles. Breaking-down Tackel. Head Collars. Horse Clothing. 
Knee-caps and Miscellaneous Articles. Repairing Harness and Saddlery. Re-lining 
Collars and Saddles. Riding and Driving Whips. Superior Set of Gig Harness. Index. 

Ready Shortly: 

Knotting- and Splicing*. 

Bees and Beehives. 

Electro Plating. 

Other Volumes in Preparation. 

DAVID McKAY, Publisher, Washington Square, Philadelphia. 



A BOOK OF INSTRUCTIONS FOR OPERATORS 
OF FARM ENGINES 



The TRACTION ENGINE 

ITS USE ANU,lBUSE 

b 
Including Gas and Gasoline Engines 

WITH SPECIAL CHAPTERS ON 

Threshing Machines and How to run a Threshing Rig 
BY JAMES H. MAGGARD 



THIRD EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED 
BY EXPERT ENGINEERS 



PHILADELPHIA 
DAVID MCKAY, PUBLISHER 

610 SOUTH WASHINGTON SQUARE 
1905 



-tao 




LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Twc Copies rteceived 

tEB 



/ 



15 1905 

tfouyrigui entry 
LASS 0* XAC Not 
' COTY B. 



Copyright, 1898, by David McKay 



Copyright, 1904, by David McKay 



WM. F. FELL COMPANY 

ELECTROTYPERS AND PRINTERS 

1220-24 SANSOM STREET 

PHILADELPHIA, PA. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGES 

Preface, vi 

Introduction, viii 

Part First. — General description of Traction Engine, 11 

Part Second. — What to do and what not to do, 17 

Part Third. — Water supply, 42 

Part Fourth.— The boiler, 60 

Part Fifth. — A good fireman, 87 

Part Sixth.— The Engine, 98 

Part Seventh. — Handling a Traction Engine, 118 

Part Eighth. — Different Traction Engines, 131 

Part Ninth. — Some things to know, 166 

Part Tenth. — Internal Combustion Engines, 180 

Part Eleventh. — How to run a Gas or Gasoline Engine, .... 217 

Part Twelfth. — Description of Gasoline Traction Engines, . . . 235 

Part Thirteenth. — The threshing machine, 246 

Part Fourteenth. — How to run a threshing rig, 269 

Index, 291 



PEEFACE. 



In placing this little book before the public the author 
wishes it understood that it is not his intention to produce 
a scientific work on engineering. Such a book would be 
valuable only to engineers of large stationary engines. 
In a nice engine room nice theories and scientific calcula- 
tions are practicable. This book is intended for engineers 
of farm and traction engines — " rough and tumble en- 
gineers," who have everything in their favor to-day and 
to-morrow are in mud holes ; who, with the same engine, do 
eight horse w r ork one day and sixteen horse work next 
day ; who use well water to-day, creek water to-morrow, 
and water from some stagnant pool next day. Reader, 
the author has had all these experiences, and you will have 
them. But do n't get discouraged ; you can get through 
them to your entire satisfaction. 

Do n't conclude that all you are to do is to read this 
book. It will not make an engineer out of you. But 
read it carefully, use good judgment and common sense, 
do as it tells you, and, my word for it, in one month you, 

v 



vi Preface. 

for all practical purposes, will be a better engineer than 
four-fifths of the so-called engineers to-day, who think 
what they do n't know would not make much of a book. 

Do n't deceive yourself with the idea that what you 
get out of this will be merely " book learning." What 
is said in this will be plain, unvarnished, practical facts. 
It is not the author's intention to use any scientific terms, 
but plain, everyday field terms. There will be a number 
of things you will not find in this book. You will not 
learn how many pounds of coal it will require to evapo- 
rate so many pounds of water, or how many square feet of 
heating surface is required to produce a given horse- 
power. You will not find any geometrical figures made 
up of circles, curves, angles, letters, and figures in a vain 
effort to make you understand the principle of an eccen- 
tric. AVhile it is all very nice to know these things, it is 
not necessary, and the putting of them in this little work 
would defeat the very object for which it is intended. Be 
content with being a good, practical, everyday engineer, 
and all these things will come in time. 



INTRODTTCTIOK 



If you have not read the preface on the preceding 
pages, turn back and read it. You will see that we have 
stated there that we will use no scientific terms, but 
plain everyday talk. It is presumed by us that more 
young men wishing to become good engineers will 
read this little work than old engineers. We will, 
therefore, be all the more plain, and say as little as possi- 
ble that will tend to confuse the learner, and what we do 
say will be said in the same language that we would use 
if we were in the field instructing you how to handle 
your engine. So if the more experienced engineer thinks 
we might have gone further in some certain points, he 
will please remember that by so doing we might confuse 
the less experienced, and thereby cover up the very point 
we tried to make. And yet it is not to be supposed that 
we will endeavor to make an engineer out of a man who 
never saw an engine. We will, however, insert a descrip- 
tion of a traction engine and cuts of some of its parts ; 
not to teach you how to build an engine, but rather how 



viii Introduction. 

to handle one after it is built — how to know when it is 
in proper shape and how to let it alone when it is in 
shape. We will suppose that you already know as much 
as an ordinary water boy ; and just here we will say that 
we have seen water haulers that were more capable of 
handling the engine for which they were hauling water 
than the engineer, and the engineer would not have made 
a good water boy, for the reason that he was lazy ; and we 
want the reader to stick a pin here, and if he has any 
symptoms of that complaint, do n't undertake to run an 
engine, for a lazy engineer will spoil a good engine, if 
by no other means than getting it in the habit of loafing. 



PART FIRST. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF TRAC- 
TION ENGINES. 



If ) r ou are not already familiar with the principles and 
parts of such engines you can readily become so by study- 
ing figures 1, 2, 3, and 4. Figures 1 and 2 give views 
of the complete engine and boiler taken from opposite 
sides. Figure 3 gives the interior construction of a boiler, 
and figure 4 the section of an engine and accessories. 

Look at figure 4. When the throttle-valve on the 
pipe which connects the boiler with the engine is opened, 
steam rushes into the valve-chest K. If the engine does 
not move, it is turned forward a little by hand, which will 
cause the valve V to move to the left. This motion 
uncovers the steam passage or port leading into the right- 
hand end of the cylinder, and the steam rushing into that 
end of the cylinder pushes the piston P over to the left. 
Any air or steam in the other end of the cylinder will be 
driven out through the port into the exhaust, and through 
the heater into the open air. 

11 



General Description of Traction Engine. 13 

The piston will move to the left about one-quarter of 
its whole motion, the valve also moving in the same 
direction, but as the valve is operated by a stem driven 
by an eccentric wheel on the main shaft of the engine, it 
will, at about this time, commence to move toward the 
right, closing up the port until when the piston has reached 
about one-third the distance to the left the valve has 
closed up over the port and shut off any more steam from 
going into the right-hand end of the cylinder. The steam 
will, however, expand and continue to press on the piston, 
driving it over to the right until it reaches the end of its 
course. At this time the valve has moved so far to the 
right that it uncovers the port leading to the left end of 
the cylinder. Steam rushes in at this end and drives the 
piston back again to the right, the valve cutting off steam 
from this end at about one-third of its stroke. 

The piston is connected by its rod to the crosshead C, 
and this crosshead, which moves to and fro under the 
action of the piston, is connected to the main crank-shaft 
by means of the connecting rod. By the well-known 
action of the crank and connecting rod the to-and-fro 
motion of the crosshead is changed into the rotary 
motion of the main shaft, which carries the driving 
wheels. 

So much for the engine proper : now for its accesso- 
ries. It is necessary to change direction or reverse a 



14 The Traction Engine. 

traction engine, and this is done by moving the reversing 
lever. In the middle notch the valve is in such a position 
relatively to the piston that no steam is admitted to the 
cylinder. Moving the lever to the left moves the eccen- 
tric which operates the valve-stem and moves the valve 
so that steam is admitted to one end of the cylinder, and 
this will cause the engine to go in one direction. Now, if 
we throw the reversing lever to the other end of its 
course, the valve will be moved over so that it admits 
steam now to the opposite end of the cylinder from which 
it did before, and the engine will turn in the other direc- 
tion. In order to stop quickly a brake is provided, ope- 
rated either by hand or foot lever. 

When an engine is propelling itself along the road, the 
driving wheels turn, of course, much more slowly than the 
main shaft of the engine. The reduction in speed is 
obtained by gear wheels. If we want to quickly discon- 
nect the slow-moving road driving wheels so that they 
do not turn even though the engine shaft is going at full 
speed, we move the friction clutch-lever F in the proper 
direction. Sometimes you may come to an obstacle in the 
road over which the engine refuses to go. You may, per- 
haps, get over it in this way : Throw the clutch-lever so 
as to disconnect the road wheels ; let the engine get up 
full speed and then throw the clutch-lever back so as to 
connect the road wheels. 



General Description of Traction Engine. 15 

111 figure 1, S is the wheel by which the machine is 
steered, W is a whistle, and T is the lever controlling the 
throttle ; S V is the safety-valve, and G is the governor. 

The pump is shown in figure 4, and is operated directly 
from the crosshead. It takes water from the water-tank, 
and pumps it through coils of pipe in the heater to the 
boiler. The water is heated while passing through the 
heater, because the pipes through which it flows are sur- 
rounded by exhaust steam from the engine. 

The general construction of a boiler is shown in figure 3. 
The flames and hot gases rise from the fuel in the grate 
and pass through the upper heating chamber, through the 
tubes, and into the stack. Water fills the cylinder to a 
level which must be kept above the crown sheet C S, and 
the heated water gives off steam which collects in the 
steam dome D, from which it is taken to the engine. 

The compound, or two-cylinder, traction engine has 
come into the market within the last few years, and is the 
result of trying to secure for farm engines the advantages 
known and realized for many years by stationary and 
marine engines. In such engines the steam, after passing 
through the first or smaller cylinder and expanding some- 
what, is exhausted into the second or larger cylinder and 
allowed to expand completely. Two cylinders are used 
because we can in this way get better economy in the use 
of high steam pressure than with the simple engine. 



16 The Traction Engine. 

The gain in using high steam pressure can easily be 
shown : 

One hundred pounds of coal will raise a certain quan- 
tity of water from 60 degrees into steam at 5 pounds 
pressure ; 102.9 pounds will raise it to 80 pounds ; 104.4 
pounds will raise it to 160 pounds. That is, by burning 
1 J pounds more coal than we used for 80 pounds, we can 
raise it to 160 pounds, and this steam at 160 pounds run 
into the engine would give a large increase in power over 
what we had at 80 pounds for a trifling increase in coal 
burned. These engines will furnish the same number of 
horse power with considerably less fuel than simple 
engines, from 15 to 30 per cent, less, but only when they 
are run at nearly full load all the time. 

If they are to be used on such service as to be lightly 
loaded for a considerable part of the day, instead of saving 
coal, as compared with simple engines, they will waste it. 

The increased danger from the use of high pressure 
steam — 150 pounds — is counterbalanced by making the 
boilers stronger than usual in the same proportion as the 
increase in pressure. Figure 5 shows a compound trac- 
tion engine which, you will see, differs but little in general 
appearance from the simple engine. 



PART SECOND. 

WHAT TO DO AND WHAT NOT 
TO DO. 



In order to get the learner started, it is reasonable to 
suppose that the engine he is to run is in good running 
order. It would not be fair to put the green boy on to an 
old dilapidated, worn-out engine, for he might have to 
learn too fast in order to get the engine to running in 
good shape. He might have to learn so fast that he 
would get the big head, or have no head at all, by the 
time he got through with it. And I do n't know but 
that a boy without a head is about as good as an engineer 
with a big head. We will, therefore, suppose that his 
engine is in good running order. By good running order 
we mean that it is all there and in its proper place, and 
that with from ten to twenty pounds of steam, the engine 
will start off at a good lively pace. And let us say here 
(remember that we are talking of the lone engine, no load 
considered) that if you are starting a new engine and it 
2 17 



18 The Traction Engine. 

starts off nice and easy with twenty pounds, you can make 
up your mind that you have an engine that is going to be 
nice to handle and give you but little, if any, trouble. 
But if it should require fifty or sixty pounds to start it, 
you want to keep your eyes open, something is tight ; but 
do n't take it to pieces. You might get more pieces than 
you would know what to do with. Oil the bearings freely 
and put your engine in motion, and run it carefully for a 
while and see if you do n't find something getting warm. 
If you do, stop and loosen up a very little and start it up 
again. If it still heats, loosen about the same as before, 
and you will find that it will soon be all right. But re- 
member to loosen but very little at a time, for a box or 
journal will heat from being too loose as quickly as from 
being too tight, and you will make trouble for yourself, 
for, inexperienced as you are, you do n't know whether it 
is too loose or too tight, and if you have found a warm 
box, do n't let that box take all of your attention, but 
keep an eye on all other bearings. Remember that we 
are not threshing yet ; we just run the engine out of the 
shed (and for the sake of the engine and the young engi- 
neer we hope that it did not stand out all winter) and are 
getting in shape for a good fall's run. In the meantime, 
to find out if anything heats, you can try your pumps ; 
but to help you along we will suppose that your pump, or 
injector, as the case may be, works all right. 



What to Do and What Not to Do. 19 

Now, suppose we go back where we started this new 
engine, that was slow to start with less than fifty pounds, 
and when it did start we watched it carefully and found 
after oiling thoroughly that nothing heated, as far as we 
could see. So we conclude that the trouble must be in 
the cylinder. Well, what next? Must we take off the 
cylinder head and look for the trouble ? Oh, no, not by 
any means. The trouble is not serious. The rings are a 
little tight, which is no serious fault. Keep them w r ell 
oiled, and in a day or two ten pounds will start the empty 
engine in good shape. If you are starting an engine that 
has been run^ the above instructions are not necessary, but 
if it is a new one, these precautions are not out of the way, 
and a great deal of the trouble caused in starting a new 
engine can be avoided if these precautions are observed. 

It is not uncommon for a hot box to be caused from a 
coal cinder dropping in the box in shipment, and before 
starting a new engine clean out the boxes thoroughly, 
which can be done by taking off the caps, or top box, 
and wiping the journal clean with an oily rag or waste, 
and every engineer should supply himself with this very 
necessary article, especially if he is the kind of an en- 
gineer who intends to keep his engine clean. 

The engine should be run slowly and carefully for a 
while, to give a chance to find out if anything is going to 
heat, before putting on any load. 



20 The Traction Engine. 

Now, if your engine is all right, you can run the pres- 
sure up to the point of blowing off, which is from 100 to 
110 pounds. Most new pop-valves, or safety-valves, are 
set at this pressure. I would advise you to fire to this 
point, to see that your safety is all right. It is not un- 
common for a new pop to stick, and as the steam runs up 
it is well to try it by pulling the relief lever. If, on letting 
it go, it stops the escaping steam at once, it is all right. 
If, however, the steam continues to escape, the valve sticks 
in the chamber. Usually, a slight tap with a wrench or 
a hammer will stop it at once, but never get excited over 
escaping steam, and perhaps this is as good a place as 
any to say to you, do n't get excited over anything. So 
long as you have plenty of water, and know you have, 
there is no danger. 

The young engineer will most likely wonder why we 
have not said something about the danger of explosions. 
We did not start out to write about explosions. That is 
just what we do n't want to have anything to do with. 
But, you say, is there no danger of a boiler explosion ? 
Yes ; but if you wish to explode your boiler you must 
treat it very differently from the way we advise. We 
have just stated that so long as you have plenty of water, 
and know you have, there is no danger. Well, how are 
you to know ? This is not a difficult thing to know, pro- 
vided your boiler is fitted with the proper appliances, and 



22 The Traction Engine. 

all builders of any prominence, at this date, fit their 
boilers with from two to four try-cocks and a glass gauge. 
The boiler is tapped in from two to four places for the 
try-cocks, the location of the cocks ranging from a line 
on a level with the crown sheet, or top of fire-box, to 
eight inches above, depending somewhat on the amount of 
water space above the crown sheet, as this space differs 
very materially in different makes in the same sized 
boiler. The boiler is also tapped on or near the level of 
crown sheet, to receive the lower water glass cock and 
directly above this, for the top cock. The space between 
this shows the safe variation of the water. Do n't let the 
water get above the top of the glass, for if you are run- 
ning your engine at hard work, you may knock out a 
cylinder head, and do n't let it get below the lower gauge, 
or you may get your own head knocked off. 

The bottom of the glass gauge is just a little above the 
crown sheet of the fire-box. So long as this is covered 
with water it will not get too hot to do any hurt, but if 
there is n't water enough to cover it, the heat will twist 
it and cause an explosion, perhaps, unless it is provided 
with a fusible plug. 

Now, the glass gauge is put on for your convenience, 
as you can determine the location of the water as cor- 
rectly by this as if you were looking directly into the 
boiler, provided the glass gauge is in perfect order. But 



What to Do and What Not to Do. 23 

as there are a number of ways in which it may become 
disarranged^ or unreliable, we want to impress on your 
mind that you must not depend on it entirely. We will 
give these causes further on. You are not only provided 
with the glass gauge, but with the try-cocks. These 
cocks are located so that the upper and lower cock is on, 
or near, the level with the lower and upper end of glass 
gauge. With another try-cock about on a level with the 
center of glass gauge, or, in other words, if the water 
stands about the center of glass, it will at the same time 
show at the cock when tried. Now, we will suppose that 
your glass gauge is in perfect condition and the water 
shows two inches in the glass. You now try the lower 
cock, and find plenty of water ; you will then try the 
next upper cock and get only steam. Now, as the lower 
cock is located below the water line, shown by the glass, 
and the second cock above this line, you not only see the 
water line by the glass, but you have a way of proving it. 
Should the water be within two inches of the top of the 
glass, you again have the line between two cocks and can 
also prove it. Now you can know for a certainty where 
the water stands in the boiler, and we repeat when you 
know this, there is nothing to fear from this source ; and 
as a properly constructed boiler never explodes, except 
from low water or high pressure, and as we have already 
cautioned you about your safety-valve, you have nothing 



What to Bo and What Not to Do. 25 

to fear, provided you have made up your mind to follow 
these instructions, and unless you can do this let your 
job to one who can. Well, you say you will do as we 
have directed ; we will then go back to the gauges. Do n't 
depend on your glass gauge alone, for several reasons. 
One is, if you depend on the glass entirely, the try-cocks 
become limed up and are useless, solely because they are 
not used. 

Some time ago I was standing near a traction engine 
when the engineer (I guess I must call him that) asked 
me to stay with the engine a few minutes. I con- 
sented. After he had been gone a short time I thought I 
would look after the water. It showed about two inches 
in the glass, which was all right, but as I have advised 
you, I proposed to know that it was there, and thought I 
would prove it by trying the cocks. But on attempting 
to try them I found them limed up solid. Had I been 
hunting for an engineer, that fellow would not have secured 
the job. Suppose that before I had looked at the glass it 
had bursted, which it is liable to do any time. I w r ould 
have shut the gauge-cocks off as soon as possible, to stop 
the* escaping steam and water. Then I would have tried 
the cocks to find where the water was in the boiler. I 
would have been in a bad boat, not knowing w T hether I 
had water or not. Shortly after this the fellow that was 
helping the engine to run (I guess I will put it that w T ay) 



26 



The Traction Engine. 



Water Gauges 




Fig. 6. 



Fig. 8.— Try-cock. 



What to Do and What Not to Do. 27 

came back. I asked him what the trouble was with his 
gauge-cocks. He said, " Oh, I do n 't bother with them." 
I asked him what he would do if his glass should break. 
His reply was, " Oh, that won't break." Now, just such 
an engineer as that spoils many a good engine, and then 
blames it on the manufacturer. Now, this is one good' 
reason why you are not to depend entirely on the glass 
gauge. Another equally as good reason is that your glass 
may fool you, for you see the try-cocks may lime up ; so 
may your glass gauge-cocks, but you say you use them. 
You use them by looking at them. You are not letting 
the steam or water escape from them every few minutes, 
and thereby cutting the lime away, as is the case with try- 
cocks. Now, you want to know how you are to keep them 
open. Well, that is easy. Shut off the top gauge and 
open the drain-cock at bottom of gauge-cock. This allows 
the water and steam to flow out of the lower cock ; then, 
after allowing it to escape a few seconds, shut off the lower 
gauge and open the top one, and allow it to blow about 
the same time ; then shut the drain-cock and open both 
gauge-cocks, and you will see the water seek its level, and 
you can rest assured that it is reliable. This little opera- 
tion I want you to perform every day you run an engine. 
It will prevent you from thinking you have water. I 
do n't want you to think so ; I intend that you shall 
know it. You remember we said, if you know you 



Wliat to Do and What Not to Do. 29 

have water you are safe, and every one around you 
will be safe. 

Should the gauge-glass break, shut both the gauge-glass 
valves, and loosen up the lock nuts at top and bottom of 
the glass ; take out the old and put in the new glass, 
tightening up the lock nuts ; then open the valves and 
test by the try-cocks whether the glass gauge sIioavs the 
right height of water. 

Now, here is something I want you to remember. 
Never be guilty of going to your engine in the morning 
and building a fire simply because you see water in the 
glass. We could give you the names of a score of men 
who have ruined their engines by doing this very thing. 
You, as a matter of course, want to know why this can 
do any harm. It could not, if the water in the boiler 
was as high as it shows in the glass, but it is not always 
there, and that is what causes the trouble. Well, if it 
showed in the glass, why was it not there ? You prob- 
ably have lived long enough in the world to know that 
there are a great many boys in it, and it seems to be 
second nature with them to turn everything on an engine 
that it is possible to turn. All glass gauge-cocks are 
fitted with a small hand wheel. The small boy sees this 
about the first thing and he begins to turn it, and he gen- 
erally turns as long as it turns easy, and when it stops he 
will try the other one, and when it stops he has done 



30 The Traction Engine. 

the mischief, by shutting the water off from the boiler, 
and all the water that was in the glass remains there. 
You may have stopped work with an ordinary gauge of 
water, and, as water expands when heated, it also contracts 
when it becomes cool. Water will also simmer away, if 
there is any fire left in the fire-box, especially if there 
should be any vent or leak in the boiler, and the water 
may by morning have dropped to as much as an inch 
below the crown sheet. You approach the engine and, on 
looking at the glass, see two or three inches of water. 
Should you start a fire without investigating any further, 
you will have done the damage, while if you try the 
gauge-cocks first you will discover that some one has tam- 
pered with the engine. The boy did the mischief through 
no malicious motives, but we regret to say that there are 
people in this world who are mean enough to do this very 
thing, and not stop at what the boy did unconsciously, but, 
after shutting the water in the gauge for the purpose of 
deceiving you, they then go to the blow-off cock and let 
enough water out to insure a dry crown sheet. While I 
detest a human being guilty of such a dastardly trick ; I 
have no sympathy to waste on an engineer who can be 
caught in this way. So, if by this time you have made 
up your mind never to build a fire until you know where 
the water is, you will never be fooled and will never have 
to explain an accident by saying, " I thought I had plenty 



What to Do and What Not to Do. 31 

of water." A good authority on steam boilers says : 
"All explosions come either from poor material, poor 
workmanship, too high pressure, or a too low gauge of 
water." Now, to protect yourself from the first two 
causes buy your engine from some factory having a repu- 
tation for doing good work and for using good material. 
The last two causes depend very much on yourself, if you 
are running your own engine. If not, then see that you 
have an engineer who knows when his safety-valve is in 
good shape, and who knows when he has plenty of water, 
or knows enough to pull his fire when, for some reason, 
the water should become low. If poor material and poor 
workmanship were unknown, and carelessness in engineers 
were unknown, such a thing as a boiler explosion would 
also be unknown. 

You no doubt have made up your mind by this time 
that I have no use for a careless engineer, and let me add 
right here that if you are inclined to be careless or for- 
getful (they both mean about the same thing), you are a 
mighty poor risk for an insurance company ; but, on the 
other hand, if you are careful and attentive to business, 
you are as safe a risk as any one, and your success and the 
durability and life of your engine depend entirely upon 
you, and it is not worth your while to try to shift the 
responsibility of an accident to your engine on to some 
one else. 



32 The Traction Engine. 

If you should go away from your engine and leave it 
with the water boy, or any one who might be handy, or 
leave it alone, as is often done, and something goes wrong 
with the engine, you are at fault. You had no business 
to leave it ; but, you say, you had to go to the separator 
and help fix something there. At the separator is not 
your place. It is not our intention to tell you how to run 
both ends of an outfit. We could not tell you if we 
wanted to. If the men at the separator can't handle it, 
get some one who can. Your place is at the engine. If 
your engine is running nicely, there is all the more reason 
why you should stay by it, and that is the way to keep it 
running nicely. I have seen tweiity dollars' damage done 
to the separator and two days' time lost, all because the 
engineer was as near the separator as he w T as to the en- 
gine when a root went into the cylinder. Stay w T ith your 
engine, and if anything goes wrong at the separator you 
are ready to stop and stop quickly, and if you are sig- 
nalled to start you are ready to start at once. You are, 
therefore, making time for your employer or for yourself, 
and to make time while running a threshing outfit means 
to make money. There are engineers running engines to- 
day who waste time enough every day to pay their wages. 

There is one thing that may be a little difficult to learn, 
and that is to let your engine alone when it is all right. 
I once gave a young fellow T a recommendation to a farmer 



What to Do and What Not to Do. 33 

who wanted an engineer, and afterward noticed that 
whenever I happened around he immediately picked up 
a wrench and commenced to loosen up, first one thing and 
then another. If that engineer ever loses that recom- 
mendation he will be out of a job, if his getting one de- 
pends on my giving him another. I wish to say to the 
learner that that is not the way to run an engine. When- 
ever I happen to go around an engine— and I never lose 
an opportunity — and see an engineer watching his engine 
(now do n't understand me to mean standing and gazing 
at it), I conclude that he knows his business. What I 
mean by watching an engine is, every few minutes let 
your eye wander over the engine and you will be surprised 
to see how quickly you will detect anything out of place. 
So, when I see an engineer watching his engine closely 
while running, I am most certain to see another com- 
mendable feature in a good engineer, and that is, when he 
stops his engine he will pick up a greasy rag and go over 
his engine carefully, wiping every working part, watching 
or looking carefully at every point that he touches. If a 
nut is working loose, he finds it ; if a bearing is hot, he 
finds it ; if any part of his engine has been cutting, he 
finds it. He picked up a greasy rag instead of a wrench, 
for the engineer that understands his business and attends 
to it never picks up a wrench unless he has something to 
do with it. The good engineer took a greasy rag, and 
3 



34 The Traction Engine. 

while he was using it to clean his engine, he was at the 
same time carefully examining every part. His main ob- 
ject was to see that everything was all right. If he had 
found a nut loose or any part out of place, then he would 
have taken his wrench, for he had use for it. 

Now, what a contrast there is between this engineer and 
a poor one ; and, unfortunately, there are hundreds of poor 
engineers running portable and traction engines. You 
will find a poor engineer very willing to talk. This is 
bad habit number one. He can not talk and have his 
mind on his work. Beginners must not forget this. 
When I tell you how to fire an engine, you wall under- 
stand how important it is. The poor engineer is very apt 
to ask an outsider to stay at his engine while he goes to 
the separator to talk. This is bad habit number two. 
Even if the outsider is a good engineer, he does not know 
whether the pump is throwing more w r ater than is being 
used or whether it is throwing less. He can only ascertain 
this by watching the column of water in the glass, and he 
hardly knows whether to throw in fuel or not. He does n't 
want the steam to go down and he does n't know at what 
pressure the pop-valve will blow oif. There may be a 
box or journal that has been giving the engineer trouble, 
and the outsider knows nothing about it. There are a 
dozen other good reasons why bad habit number two is 
very bad. 



What to Do and What Not to Do. 35 

If you will watch the poor engineer when he stops his 
engine, he will, if he does anything, pick up a wrench, go 
around to the wrist-pin, strike the key a little crack, draw 
a nut or peck away at something else, and can't see any- 
thing for grease and dirt. When he starts up again, ten 
to one the wrist-pin heats, and he stops and loosens it up, 
and then it knocks. Now, if he had picked up a rag in- 
stead of a wrench he would not have hit that key, but 
he would have run his hand over it, and if he had found 
it all right he would have let it alone, and would have 
gone over the balance of the engine ; and when he started 
up again his engine would have looked better for the 
wiping it got, and would have run just as well as before 
he stopped it. Now, you will understand why a good 
engineer wears out more rags than wrenches, while a poor 
one wears out more wrenches than rags. Never bother 
an engine until it bothers you. If you do, you will make 
lots of grief for yourself. 

I have mentioned the bad habits of a poor engineer so 
that you may avoid them. If you carefully avoid all the 
bad habits connected with the running of an engine, you 
will be certain to fall into good habits and will become a 
good engineer. 

After carelessness, meddling with an engine comes next 
in the list of bad habits. The tinkering engineer never 
knows whether his engine is in good shape or not, and the 



36 The Traction Engine. 

chances are that if he should get it in good shape he 
would not know enough to let it alone. If anything does 
actually get wrong with your engine, do not be afraid to 
take hold of it, for something must be done, and you are 
the one to do it ; but before you do anything, be certain 
that you know what is w^rong. For instance, should the 
valve become disarranged on the valve-stem, or in any 
other way, do not try to remedy the trouble by changing 
the eccentric, or, if the eccentric slips, do not go to the 
valve to mend the trouble. I am well aware that among 
young engineers the impression prevails that a valve is a 
wonderful piece of mechanism, liable to kick out of place 
and play smash generally. Now, let me tell you right 
here that a valve (I mean the ordinary slide-valve such 
as is used on traction and portable engines) is one of the 
simplest parts of an engine, and you are not to lose any 
sleep about it, so please be patient until I am ready to 
introduce you to this part of your work. You have a 
perfect right to know what is wrong with the engine. 
The trouble may not be serious, and yet it is important to 
you that the engine is not running just as nicely as it 
should. Now, if your engine runs irregularly, — that is, if 
it runs up to a higher speed than you want and then runs 
down, — you are likely to say at once : " Oh, I know what 
the trouble is, it is the governor." AY ell, suppose it is, 
what are you going to do about it ? Are you going to 



What to Do and What Not to Do. 37 

shut down at once and go to tinkering with it ? No, do n't 
do that ; stay close to the throttle- valve and watch the 
governor closely. Keep your eye on the governor stem, 
and when the engine starts off on one of its high-speed 
tilts you will see the stem go down through the stuffing- 
box and then stop and stick in one place until the engine 
slows down below its regular speed, and it then lets loose 
and goes up quickly, and your engine lopes off again. 
You have now located the trouble. It is in the stuffing- 
box around the little brass rod or governor stem. The 
packing has become dry, and by loosening it up and ap- 
plying oil you may remedy the trouble until such time as 
you can repack it with fresh packing. Candle-wick will 
do for this purpose until regular packing can be obtained. 
But if the governor does not act as I have described, 
and the stem seems to be perfectly free and easy in the 
box, and the governor still acts queerly, starting off and 
running fast for a few seconds, and then suddenly con- 
cluding to take it easy, and away goes the engine again, 
see if the governor belt is all right, and if it is, it would 
be well for you to stop and see if a wheel is not loose. It 
might be either the little belt-wheel or one of the little 
cog-wheels. If you find these are all right, examine the 
spool on the crank-shaft from which the governor is run, 
and you will probably find it loose. If the engine has 
been run for any length of time, you will always find the 



38 The Traction Engine. 

trouble in one of these places ; but if it is a new one, the 
governor- valve might fit a little tight in the valve cham- 
ber, and you may have to take it out and use a little emery 
paper to take off the rough projections on the valve. 
Never use a file on this valve if you can get emery paper ; 
and I would advise you to always have some of it w T ith 
you ; it will often come handy. 

Now, if the engine should start off at a lively gait and 
continue to run still faster, you must stop at once. The 
trouble this time is surely in the governor. If the belt is 
all right, examine the jam-nuts on the top of the governor- 
valve stem. You will probably find that these nuts have 
worked loose and the rod is working up, which will 
increase the speed of the engine. If these are all right, 
you will find that either a pulley or a little cog-wheel is 
loose. A quick eye will locate the trouble before you 
have time to stop. If the belt is loose, the governor will 
lag, while the engine will run away. If the wheel is 
loose, the governor will most likely stop, and the engine 
will go on a tear. If the jam-nut has worked loose, the 
governor will run on, as usual, except that it will increase 
its speed as the speed of the engine is increased. Now 
any of these little things may happen, and are likely to. 
None of them are serious, provided you take my advice 
and remain near the engine. Now, if you are thirty or 
forty feet away from the engine and the governor-belt 



WJiat to Do and What Not to Do. 39 

slips or gets unlaced, or the pulley gets off, about the first 
thing the engine would do would be to jump out of the 
belt, and by the time you get to it it will be having a 
mighty lively time all alone. This might happen once 
and do no harm, and it might happen again and do a great 
deal of damage ; and you are being paid to run the engine 
and you must stay by it. The governor is not a difficult 
thing to handle, but it requires watching. 

Now, if I should drop the governor, you might say that 
I had not given you any instructions about how to regulate 
it as to speed. I really do not know whether it is worth 
while to say much about it, for governors are of different 
design and are necessarily differently arranged for regu- 
lating, but to help young learners I will take the Waters 
governor, w r hich I think the most generally used on 
threshing and farm engines. By looking at figure 10 you 
will see two balls, each mounted on one end of a hinged 
lever ; the other end of the lever is attached to a valve- 
stem, which operates the throttle-valve. If the balls are 
raised, the valve-stem will drop and shut off the valve ; 
if the balls fall, the valve will be opened wider and more 
steam admitted to the cylinder. The levers w r ork against 
a spring after the balls have been raised part w T ay, and 
this spring tries to keep the balls from rising further. As 
the engine speeds up, the balls, under the action of cen- 
trifugal force, try to rise up, and they do rise a little, and 



40 



The Traction Engine. 



thus shut off the throttle- valve a little, which will make 
the engine slow r down. By changing the tension of the 
spring you can change the speed at which the engine will 
run. For doing this you will find on the upper end of the 
valve- or governor-stem two little brass nuts. The upper 
one is a thumb-nut, and is made fast to the stem ; the 




Fig. 10. 



second nut is a loose jam-nut. It increases the speed of 
the engine. Loosening this jam-nut and taking hold of 
the thumb-nut, you turn it back slowly, watching the 
motion of your engine all the while ; when you have 
obtained the speed you require, run the thumb-nut down 
as tight as you can with your fingers ; never use a wrench 



What to Do and Wliat Not to Do. 41 

on these nuts. To slow or slacken this speed, loosen the 
jam-nut as before, except that you must run it up a few 
turns ; then, taking hold of the thumb-nut, turn down 
slowly until you have the speed required, when you again 
set the thumb-nut secure. In regulating the speed, be 
careful not to press down on the stem when turning, as 
this will make the engine run a little slower than it will 
after the pressure of your hand is removed. 

If, at any time, your engine refuses to start with an 
open throttle, notice your governor-stem and you will find 
that it has been screwed down as far as it will go. This 
frequently happens with a new engine, the stem having 
been screwed down for its protection in transportation. 

In traveling through timber with an engine, be very 
careful not to let any over-hanging limbs come in contact 
with the governor. 

Now, I think what I have said regarding this particular 
governor will enable you to handle any one you may come 
in contact with, as they are all very much alike in these 
respects. If you will follow the instructions I have given 
you, the governor will attend to the rest. 



PART THIRD. 
WATER-SUPPLY. 



If you want to be a successful engineer, it is necessary 
to know all about the pump. I have no doubt that many 
who read this book can not tell why the old wooden pump 
(from which he has pumped water ever since he was tall 
enough to reach the handle) will pump water simply be- 
cause he works the handle up and down. If you do n't 
know this, I have quite a task on my hands, for you must 
not attempt to run an engine until you know the principle 
of the pump. If you do understand the old town pump, 
I will not have much trouble with you, for while there is 
no old-style wooden pump used on the engine, the same 
principles are used in the cross-head pump. Do not 
imagine that a cross-head pump means something to be 
dreaded. It is only a simple lift and force pump, driven 
from the crosshead. That is where it gets its name, and it 
does n't mean that you are to get cross at it if it does n't 
work, for nine times out of ten the fault will be yours. 

42 



Water-supply. 43 

Now. I am well aware that all engines do not have cross- 
head pumps, and with all respect to the builders of 
engines who do not use them, I am inclined to think that 
all standard farm engines ought to have a cross-head 
pump, because it is the most simple pump in use, and is 
the most economical ; and if properly constructed, it is the 
most reliable. The general arrangement is shown in 
figure 4. 

A cross-head pump consists of a pump barrel, a 
plunger, one vertical check-valve, and two horizontal 
check-valves, a globe valve, and one stop-cock, with more 
or less piping. We will now locate each of these parts, 
and will then note the part that each performs in process 
of feeding the boiler. 

You will find all or most pump barrels located under 
the cylinder of the engine. It is placed here for several 
reasons ; it is out of the way ; it is a convenient place 
from which to connect it to the crosshead by which it is 
driven. On some engines it is located on the top or at 
the side of the cylinder, and will work equally well. The 
plunger is connected with the crosshead, and in direct 
line with the pump barrel, and plays back and forth in 
the barrel. The vertical check-valve is placed between 
the pump and the water-supply. It is not absolutely 
necessary that the first check be a vertical one, but a check 
of some kind must be so placed. As the water is lifted 



44 The Traction Engine. 

up to the boiler, it is more convenient to use a vertical 
check at this point. Just ahead and a few inches from 
the pump barrel is a horizontal check-valve. Following 
the course of the water toward the point where it enters the 
boiler, you will find another check-valve. This is called 
a " hot-water check." Just below this check, or between 
it and w^here the water enters the boiler, you will find a 
stop-cock. This may be a globe valve ; they both answer 
the same purpose. I will tell you further on why a stop- 
cock is preferable to a globe valve. While the cross-head 
pumps may differ as to location and arrangement, you will 
find that they all require the parts described, and that the 
checks are so placed that they bear the same relation to 
each other. No fewer parts can be used in a pump 
required to lift water and force it against steam pressure. 
More check-valves may be used, but it would not do to 
use less. Each has its work to do, and the failure of one 
defeats all the others. The pump barrel is a hollow 
cylinder, the chamber being large enough to admit the 
plunger, which varies in size from -| of an inch to one 
inch in diameter, depending upon the size of the boiler to 
be supplied. The barrel is usually a few inches longer 
than the stroke of the engine, and is provided at the cross- 
head end with a stuffing-box and nut. At the discharge 
end it is tapped out to admit of piping to conduct water 
from the pump. At the same end, and at the extreme 



Water-supply. 45 

end of the travel of the plunger, it is tapped for a second 
pipe through which the water reaches the pump barrel. 
The plunger is usually made of steel, and turned down to 
lit snug in the chamber, and is long enough to play the 
full stroke of engine between the stuffing-box and point 
of supply, and to connect with the driver on the cross- 
head. Now, we will take it for granted that, to begin 
with, the pump is in good order, and we will start it up 
stroke at a time and watch its work. We will suppose 
that we have good water, and a good hard-rubber suc- 
tion hose attached to the supply pipe just under the 
globe valve. When we start the pump w^e must open 
the little pet cock between the two horizontal check- 
valves. The globe valve must be open so as to let the 
water in. A check-valve, whether it is vertical or hori- 
zontal, will allow water to pass through it one way only, if 
it is in good working order. If the water will pass 
through both ways, it is of no account. Now, the engine 
starts out on the upward stroke and draws the plunger out 
of the chamber. This leaves a space in the barrel which 
must be filled. Air can not get into it, because the pump 
is in perfect order ; neither can the air get to it through 
the hose, as it is in the water, so that the pressure on the 
outside of the water causes it to flow up through the pipes, 
through the first check-valve and into the pump barrel, 



46 The Traction Engine, 

and fills the space ; and if the engine has a twelve-inch 
stroke, and the plunger is one inch in diameter, we have a 
column of water in the pump twelve inches long and one 
inch in diameter. 

The engine has now reached its outward stroke and 
starts back. The plunger comes back with it and takes 
the space occupied by the water, which must get out of 
the way for the plunger. The water came up through the 
first check-valve, but it can't get back that way. There 
is another check-valve just ahead, and as the plunger 
travels back it drives the water through this second check. 
When the plunger reaches the end of the backward stroke 
it has driven the water all out. It then starts forward 
again, but the water which has been driven through the 
second check can't get back and the plunger continues to 
force more water through the second check, taking four 
or five strokes of the plunger to fill the pipes between the 
second check-valve and the hot-water check-valve. If 
the gauge shows 100 pounds steam, the hot- water check is 
held shut by 100 pounds pressure, and, when the space 
between the check-valves is filled with water, the next 
stroke of the plunger will force the water through the hot- 
water check-valve, and the valve is held shut by the 100 
pounds steam pressure so that the pump must force the 
water against this hot-water check-valve with a force 



Water-supply. 47 

greater than 100 pounds pressure. If the pump is in 
good condition, the plunger does its work and the water is 
forced through into the boiler. 

A clear, sharp click of the valves at each stroke of the 
plunger is certain evidence that the pump is working well. 

The small drain cock between the horizontal checks is 
placed there to assist in starting the pump, to tell when 
the pump is working, and to drain the water off to pre- 
vent freezing. When the pump is started to work and 
this drain cock is opened, and the hot water in the pipes 
drained off, the globe valve is then opened, and, after a 
few strokes of the plunger, the water will begin to flow 
out through the drain cock, which is then closed, and you 
may be reasonably certain that the pump is working all 
right. If at any time you are in doubt as to whether the 
pump is forcing the water through the pipes, you can 
easily ascertain by opening this drain cock. It will 
always discharge cold water when the pump is working. 
Another way to tell if the pump is working is by placing 
your hand on the first two check-valves. If they are 
cold, the pump is working all right, but if they are warm, 
the cold water is not being forced through them. 

It is very important when the pump does n't work to 
ascertain what the trouble is. If it should stop suddenly, 
examine the tank and ascertain if you have any water. 
If you have sufficient water, it may be that there is air in 



48 The Traction Engine. 

the pump chamber, and the only way that it can get in is 
through the stuffing-box around the plunger, if the pipes 
are all tight. Give this stuffing nut a turn, and if the 
pump starts off all right you have found the trouble, and 
it would be well to repack the pump the first chance you 
get. 

If the trouble is not in the stuffing-box, go to the tank 
and see if there is anything over the screen or strainer at 
the end of the hose. If there is not, take hold of the 
hose and you can tell if there is any suction. Then ascer- 
tain if the water flows in and then out of the hose again. 
You can tell this by holding your hand over the end of 
the hose. If you find that it draws the water in and then 
forces it out again, the trouble is with the first check- 
valve. There is something under it which prevents its 
shutting down. If, however, you find that the water is 
not forced out of the hose and returned to the tank, ex- 
amine the second check. If there were something under 
it, it would prevent the pump working, because the pump 
forces the water through it ; and, as the plunger starts 
back, if the check fails to hold, the water flows back and 
fills the pump barrel again. 

The trouble may, however, be in the hot-water check, 
and it can always be told whether it is in the second 
check or hot-water check by opening the little drain cock. 
If the water which goes out through it is cold, the trouble 



Water-supply. 49 

is in the second check ; but if hot water and steam are 
blown out through this little drain cock, the trouble is in 
the hot-water check, or the one next to the boiler. This 
check must never be tampered with without first turning 
the stop-cock between this check and the boiler. The 
valve can then be taken out and the obstruction removed. 
Be very careful never to take out the hot-water check 
without closing the stop-cock, for if you do you will get 
badly scalded ; and never start the pump without opening 
this valve, for if you do it will burst the pump. 

The obstruction under the valves is sometimes hard to 
find. A young man in southern Iowa got badly fooled 
by a little pebble about the size of a pea, which got into 
the pipe, and when he started his pump the pebble would 
be forced up under the check and let the water back. 
When he took the check out the pebble was not there, for 
it had dropped back into the pipe. You will see that it 
is necessary to make a careful examination, and not get 
mad, pick up a wrench, and whack away at the check- 
valve, bruising it so that it will not work. Remember 
that it would work if it could, and make up your mind 
to find out why it does n't work. A few years ago I was 
called several miles to see an engine on which the pump 
would not work. The engine had been idle for two years 
and the engineer had been trying all that time to make 

4 



50 The Traction Engine. 

the pump work. I took the cap off of the horizontal 
check, just forward of the pump barrel, and took the 
valve out and discovered that the check was reversed. I 
told the engineer that if he would put the check in so 
that the water could get through he would have no more 
trouble. This fellow had lost his head ; he was com- 
pletely rattled ; he insisted that the valve had always 
been on that way, although the engine had been run two 
years. 

There are other causes that would prevent the pump 
working besides lack of packing and obstructions under 
the valves : the valve may stick ; when it is raised to 
allow the water to flow through, it may stick in the valve 
chamber and refuse to settle back in the seat. This may 
be caused by a little rough place in the chamber, or a 
little projection on the valve, and can generally be reme- 
died by tapping the under side of check with a wrench or 
hammer. Do not strike it so hard as to bruise the check, 
but simply tap it as you would tap an eggshell without 
breaking it. If this does n 't remedy the trouble, take the 
valve out, bore a hole in a board about J of an inch deep 
and large enough to permit the valve to be turned. Drop 
a little emery dust in this hole. If you have n't any 
emery dust, scrape some grit from a common whetstone. 
If you have no whetstone, put some fine sand or gritty 



Water-supply. 51 

soil in the hole, put the valve on top of it, put your brace 
on the valve, and turn it vigorously for a few minutes, 
and you will remove all roughness. 

Constant use may sometimes make a burr on the valve 
which will cause it to stick. Put it through the above 
course and it will be as good as new. If this little pro- 
cess were generally known, a great deal of trouble and 
annoyance could be avoided. 

It will not be necessary to describe many styles of 
pumps. If you know how to run the cross-head pump, 
you can run any of the others. Some engines have 
a cross-head pump only ; others have an independent 
pump ; others have an injector, or inspirator, and some 
have both cross-head pump and injector. I think a farm 
engine should be supplied with both. 

It is neither wise nor necessary to go into a detailed 
description of an injector. The young reader will be 
likely to become convinced if an injector works for five 
minutes it will continue to work, if the conditions remain 
the same. If the water in the tank does not become 
heated, and no foreign substance is permitted to enter the 
injector, there is nothing to prevent its working properly. 
An injector will not pump hot water, neither will it start 
to work while it is hot. In an injector the size that is 
usually used on farm engines, the opening through which 
the water passes is not over ^ of an inch in diameter. 




Fig. 11.— Check Valve. 




Fig. 12. 




Fig. 13. 



Penberthy Injector. 
52 






N 




R- STEAM JET. -Vj-.V-TAIL PIPER- 
S-SUCTION JET. > -X-COUPLING NUT. 

Y-DELIVERYJET. N-OVERFLOW HINGE. 

0-PLUG. •- P-OVERFLOW VALVE. 

--- Z-OVERFLOWCAP-- 

Fig. 14. — Details of a Penberthy 
Injector. 



Fig. 16.— The Siphon. 




Fig. 15. 



53 



-Strainer for Hose 
Connection. 



54 The Traction Engine. 

It will be readily seen that muddy water can not be used. 

The injector should not be placed too near the boiler, 
as the heat from the boiler will make it hard to start the 
injector each time after it has been standing idle. 

If the injector is so hot that it will not lift the cold 
water, there is no way of cooling it except by applying 
the water on the outside. This is most effectively done 
by covering the injector with a cloth and pouring water 
over the cloth. If after the injector has become cool it 
still refuses to work, you may be sure that there is some 
obstruction in it that must be removed. This can be 
done by taking off the cap, or plug-nut, and running a 
fine wire through the cone valve and cylinder valve. 

The above suggestions with reference to an injector 
refer more especially to the Eberman injector, and others 
of its class that require only the steam globe to be manip- 
ulated in order to start the injector to work. There are 
other makes that require, first, that the steam supply be 
opened ; then open the globe, which permits the water to 
reach the injector. If you have an injector of this kind, 
when you come to start it you must first give it a sufficient 
head of steam, then open the globe valve, and when the 
water is lifted and begins to discharge from the overflow, 
let it run, say, about ten seconds, then shut the water off 
for about one second, and then open up the globe with a 
quick turn, and the injector will start to work without 



Water-supply. 55 

trouble. If this style of injector will not work, it can be 
remedied the same as the Eberman and others of its class. 
It must be borne in mind that the injector must be fitted 
perfectly air-tight, and that the steam supply must be 
tight. 

To start and work the Penberthy injector these direc- 
tions will be useful : 

To start at twenty-five or thirty pounds of steam pressure, 
open water valve one turn and open steam valve full, 
when it should work all right, water going into the boiler. 
If water comes out the overflow, shut off valves and try it 
again, opening the water valve a little less. With steam 
at eighty pounds it is not necessary to juggle the water 
valve ; just open it wide and then turn on steam valve 
full. 

It is desirable to feed the w T ater hot into the boiler. To 
do this, adjust the water valve until by feeling the pipe 
leading to the boiler you find that it is getting warm. 

It is now time to give some attention to the heater. 
While the heater is no part of the pump, it is connected 
with it and does its work between the two horizontal 
check-valves. Its purpose is to heat the water before it 
passes into the boiler. The water on its way from ths 
pump to the boiler is forced through a coil of pipes around 
which the exhaust steam passes on its way from the cylinder 
to the exhaust nozzle in the smoke-stack. 



56 The Traction Engine. 

The heaters are made in several different designs, but 
it is not necessary to describe all of them, as they require 
little attention, and they all answer the same purpose. 
The most of them are made by the use of a hollow bed- 
plate with steam-fitted heads or plates. The water pipe 
passes through the plate at the end of the heater into the 
hollow chamber, and a coil of pipes is formed, and the 
pipe then passes back through the head or plate to the hot- 
water check- valve and into the boiler. 

The steam enters the cylinder from the boiler, varying 
in degrees of heat from 400 to 600. After acting on the 
piston head, it is exhausted directly into the chamber or 
hollow bed-plate through which the pipes pass. The 
water, when it enters the heater, is as cold as w T hen it left 
the tank, but the steam which surrounds the pipes has 
lost but little of its heat, and by the time the water passes 
through the coil of pipes it is heated to nearly boiling 
point and can be introduced into the boiler with little ten- 
dency to reduce the steam. This use » of the exhaust 
steam is economical, as it saves fuel, and it will be injuri- 
ous to pump cold water direct into a hot boiler. 

If your engine is fitted with both cross-head pump and 
injector, you use the injector for pumping water w r hen the 
engine is not running. The injector heats the water 
almost as hot as the heater. If your engine is running 
and doing no work, use your injector and stop the pump, 



Water-supply. 57 

for, while the engine is running light, the small amount 
of exhaust steam is not sufficient to heat the water and 
the steam will be reduced rapidly. You will understand, 
therefore, that the injector is intended principally for an 
emergency rather than for general use. It should always 
be kept in order, for should the pump decline to w r ork, 
you have only to start your injector and use it until such 
time as you can remedy the trouble. 

I said a little while ago that I thought that every 
traction engine ought to be supplied with both a pump 
and an injector. Before I close the subject I wish to call 
your attention to the Clark pump generally supplied with 
the North TTest Traction Engine. Fig. 17 gives you a 
view of this engine pump. It is an independent steam- 
pump of a vertical type, generally located on the boiler 
?lose to the traction gear and on the side opposite to the 
steering wheel handle. 

The engine and the pump are permanently connected 
together, and have their cylinder located one above the 
other and on the same line. The engine is supplied with 
its own cylinder, steam-chest, valves, etc., and the pump 
is also complete in itself. 

This pump differs, therefore, from the cross-head pump 
in that it is absolutely independent of the operation of the 
engine and that it can be used when the engine is not 
running ; and, further, that it can be run at any speed 



58 



The Traction Engine. 



wanted independent of the speed of the engine, thus en- 
abling the water-supply to 
be regulated to suit all 
conditions. 

The exhaust steam from 
the pump is utilized for 
heating the feed-water be- 
fore it is pumped into the 
boiler, which results in the 
advantage that the water 
supplied to the boiler is 
of the same temperature 
whether the engine is run- 
ning or not running. The 
advantage of being able to 
supply the boiler with 
feed-water of the same 
temperature under all con- 
ditions is very great, as it 
materially prolongs the 
life of the boiler. An- 
other advantage secured 
by using an independent 
pump is that it can also 
be used by hand, which 
Fig. 17. enables you to supply your 




Water-supply. 59 

boiler with water even if you should not have any steam 
at all. 

The pump itself is extremely simple in construction 
and can be regulated for any speed which you may desire. 
If it should be necessary to fill your boiler rapidly, you 
can do so, and afterward you can reduce the speed to 
such a number of revolutions that the pump will only 
replace the amount of water which has been evaporated. 

TTe have now explained how you get your water- 
supply. You understand that you must have water first 
and then fire. Be sure that you have the water-supply 
first. 



PART FOURTH. 
THE BOILER. 



A boiler should be kept clean outside and inside — out- 
side for your own credit and inside for the credit of the 
manufacturers. A dirty boiler requires hard firing, takes 
lots of fuel, and is unsatisfactory in every way. 

The best way to keep it clean is not to let it get dirty. 
The place to begin work is with your " water boy ; " per- 
suade him to be very careful of the water he brings you ; 
if you can't succeed in this, ask him to resign. 

I have seen a water hauler back into a stream and then 
dip the water from the lower side of the tank ; the muddy 
water always goes down stream and the wheels stir up the 
mud, and your bright water hauler dips it into the tank. 
While if he had dipped it from the upper side, he would 
have got clear water. However, the days of dipping water 
are past, but a water boy that will do as I have stated is 
just as liable to throw his hose into the muddy water or 
lower side of tank as on the upper side, where it is clear. 

60 



The Boiler. 61 

See that he keeps his tank clean. We have seen tanks 
with one-half inch of mud in the bottom. We know that 
there are times when you are compelled to use muddy 
water, but as soon as it is possible to get clear water make 
him wash out his tank and do n't let him haul it around 
\\A the boiler gets it all. 

Allow me just here to tell you how to construct a good 
ank for a traction engine. You can make the dimensions 
to suit yourself, but across the front end, and about two 
feet back, fit a partition or second head ; in the center of 
this head and about an inch from the bottom bore a two- 
inch hole. Place a screen over this hole on the side next 
the rear, and on the other side, or side next front end, put 
a valve. You can construct the valve in this way : 
Take a piece of thick leather, about four inches long, and 
2 1 inches wide ; fit a block of wood (a large bung answers 
the purpose nicely) on one end, trimming the leather 
around one side of the wood ; then nail the long part of the 
valve just above the hole so that the valve will fit nicely 
over the hole in partition. When properly constructed, 
this valve will allow the water to flow into the front end 
of the tank, but will prevent its running back. So, when 
you are on the road with part of a tank of water, and 
start down hill, this front part fills full of water, and when 
you start up hill it can not get back, and your pumps will 
work as well as if you had a full tank of water. As most 



62 The Traction Engine. 

all tanks are tapered at their lower front end, you can not 
get your pumps to work well in going up a steep hill with 
anything less than a full tank. Now, this may be con- 
sidered a little out of the engineer's duty, but it will save 
lots of annoyance if he has his tank supplied with this 
little appliance, which is simple but does the business. 

A boiler should be washed out and not blown out. I 
believe I am safe in saying that more than half the engi- 
neers of threshing engines to-day depend on the " blowing 
out " process to clean their boilers. I do n't intend to tell 
you to do anything without giving my reasons. We will 
take a hot boiler, for instance, say fifty pounds steam, 
We will, of course, take out the fire. It is not supposed 
that any one will attempt to blow out the water with any 
fire in the fire-box. We will, after removing the fire, open 
the blow-off valve, which will be found at the bottom or 
lowest water point. The water is forced out very rapidly 
with this pressure, and the last thing that comes out is the 
steam. This steam keeps the entire boiler hot till every- 
thing is blown out, and the result is that all the dirt, sedi- 
ment, and lime is baked solid in the tubes and side of 
fire-box. But you say you know enough to not blow off 
at fifty pounds pressure. Well, we will say five pounds 
then. You will admit that the boiler is not cold by any 
means, even at only five pounds, and if you know enough 
not to blow off at fifty pounds, you certainly know that at 



The Holler. 63 

five pounds pressure the damage is not entirely avoided. 
As long as the iron is hot the dirt will dry out quickly, 
and by the time the boiler is cold enough to force cold 
water through it safely, the mud is dry and adheres closely 
to the iron. Some of the foreign matter will be blown 
out, but you will find it a difficult matter to wash out 
what sticks to the hot iron. 

I am aware that some engineers claim that the boiler 
should be blown out at about five pounds or ten pounds 
pressure, but I believe in taking the common sense view. 
They will advise you to blow out at a low pressure, and 
then, as soon as the boiler is cool enough, to wash it 
thoroughly. 

Now, if you must wait till the boiler is cool before 
washing, why not let it cool with the w T ater in it ? Then, 
when you let the water out, your work is easy, and the 
moment you begin to force water through it, you will see 
the dirty water flowing out at the man or hand hole. The 
dirt is soft and washes very easily ; but if it had dried 
on the inside of the boiler while you were waiting for it 
to cool, you would find it very difficult to wash off. 

You say I said to force the water through the boiler, 
and to do this you must use a force pump. No engineer 
ought to attempt to run an engine without a force pump. 
It is one of the necessities. You say, can't you wash out 
a boiler without a force pump ? Oh, yes ! You can do 



64 The Traction Engine. 

it just like some people do business. But I started out 
to tell you how to keep your boiler clean, and the way to 
do it is to wash it out, and the way to wash it out is with 
a good force pump. There are a number of good pumps 
made, especially for threshing engines. They are fitted 
to the tank for lifting water for filling, and are fitted with 
a discharge hose and nozzle. 

You will find at the bottom of boiler one or two hand- 
hole plates, — if your boiler has a water bottom, — if not, 
they will be found at the bottom of sides of fire-box. 
Take out these hand-hole plates. You will also find 
another plate near the top, on fire-box end of boiler ; take 
this out, then open up smoke-box door and you will find 
another hand-hole plate near the lower row of tubes ; take 
this out, and then you are ready for your waterworks, 
and you want to use them vigorously ; do n't throw in a 
few buckets of water, but continue to direct the nozzle to 
every part of the boiler, and do n't stop as long as there 
is any muddy water flowing at the bottom hand holes. 
This is the way to clean your boilers, and do n't think 
that you can be a success as an engineer without this pro- 
cess, and once a week is none too often. If you w r ant 
satisfactory results from your engine you must keep a 
clean boiler, and to keep it clean requires care and labor. 
If you neglect it you can expect trouble. If you blow 
out your boiler hot, or if the mud and slush bakes on 



The Boiler. 65 

the tubes, there is soon a scale formed on the tubes, which 
decreases the boiler's evaporating capacity. You, there- 
fore, in order to make sufficient amount of steam, must 
increase the amount of fuel, which of itself is a source of 
expense, to say nothing of extra labor and the danger of 
causing the tubes to leak from the increased heat you 
must produce in the fire-box in order to make steam suffi- 
cient to do the work. 

You must not expect economy of fuel, and keep a dirty 
boiler, and do n't condemn a boiler because of hard firing 
until you know it is clean ; and do n't say it is clean when 
it can be shown to be half full of mud. 

SCALE. 

Advertisements say that certain compounds will pre- 
vent scale on boilers, and I guess they tell the truth, as 
far as they go ; but they do n't say what the result may be 
on iron. I will not advise the use of any of these prep- 
arations, for several reasons. In the first place, certain 
chemicals will successfully remove the scale formed by 
water charged with bicarbonate of lime, and have no 
effect on water charged with sulphate of lime. Some 
kinds of bark — sumac, logwood, etc. — are sufficient to 
remove the scale from water charged with magnesia or 
carbonate of lime, but they are injurious to the iron owing 
to the tannic acid with w r hich they are charged. Vinegar, 
5 



66 The Traction Engine. 

rotten apples, slop, etc., owing to their containing acetic 
acid, will remove scale, bat this is even more injurious 
to the iron than the barks. Alkalies of any kind, such as 
soda, will be found good in water containing sulphate of 
lime, by converting it into a carbonate and thereby form- 
ing a soft scale, which is easily washed out ; but these 
have their objections, for, when used to excess, they cause 
foaming. Most commercial compounds are, however, 
nothing but strong alkalies. 

Petroleum is not a bad thing in water where sulphate 
of lime prevails ; but you should use only the refined, as 
crude oil sometimes helps to form a very injurious scale. 
Moreover, if used to excess it gives a great deal of trouble 
by leaking out through the joints of the boiler tubes. 

CLEAN FLUES. 

We have been urging you to keep your boiler clean. 
Now, to get the best results from your fuel it will also be 
necessary to keep your flues clean ; as soot and ashes are 
non-conductors of heat, you will find it very difficult to 
get up steam with a coating of soot in your tubes. Most 
factories furnish with each engine a flue cleaner and rod. 
This cleaner should be made to fit the tubes snugly, and 
should be forced through each separate tube every morn- 
ing before building a fire. Some engineers never touch 
their flues with a cleaner, but when they choke the ex- 



The Boiler. 67 

haust sufficiently to create such a draft as to clean the 
flues, they are working the engine at a great disadvantage, 
besides being much more liable to pull the fire out at the 
top of smoke-stack. If it were not necessary to create 
draft by reducing your exhaust nozzle, your engine 
would run much nicer and be much more powerful if 
your nozzle was not reduced at all. How T ever, you must 
reduce it sufficiently to give draft, but don't impair 
the pow T er by making the engine clean its own flues. I 
think ninety per cent, of the fires started by traction en- 
gines can be traced to the engineer having his engine 
choked at the exhaust nozzle. This is dangerous for the 
reason that the excessive draft created throws fire out 
at the stack. It cuts the power of the engine by creating 
back pressure. We will illustrate this : Suppose you close 
the exhaust entirely, and the engine would not turn itself. 
If this is true, you can readily understand that partly 
closing it will weaken it to a certain extent. So, remem- 
ber that the nozzle has something to do with the power of 
the engine, and you can see why the fellow T that makes 
his engine clean its own flues is not the brightest engineer 
in the world. 

While it is not my intention to encourage the foolish 
habit of pulling engines, to see which is the best puller, 
however, should you get into this kind of a test, you will 
show the other fellow a trick by dropping the exhaust 



68 The Traction Engine. 

nozzle off entirely, and no one need know it. Your 
engine will not appear to be making any effort, either, in 
making the pull. Many a test has been won more through 
the shrewdness of the operator than the superiority of the 
engine. 

The knowing of this little trick may also help you out 
of a bad hole some time when you want a little extra 
power. And this brings us to the point to which I want 
you to pay special attention. The majority of engineers, 
when they want a little extra power, give the safety-valve 
a twist. 

Now, I have already told you to carry a good head of 
steam. Anywhere from 100 to 120 pounds of steam is 
good pressure for a threshing engine, and 115 pounds is a 
nice pressure, and is plenty ; and if you have your valve 
set to blow off at 115, let it be there, and don't screw it 
down every time you want more power, for if you do you 
will soon have it up to 125 ; and should you want more 
steam at some other time, you will find yourself screwing 
it down again, and what was really intended for a safety- 
valve loses all its virtue as a safety, as far as you and 
those around you are concerned. If you know you have 
a good boiler, you are safe in setting it at 125 pounds, 
provided you are determined to not set it up to any higher 
pressure. But my advice to you is that if your engine 
will not do the work required of it at 115 pounds, you had 



The Boiler. 69 

best do what you can with it until you can get a larger 
one. 

A safety-valve is exactly what its name implies, and 
there should be a heavy penalty for any one taking that 
power away from it. 

If you refuse to set your safety down at any time, it 
does not imply that you are afraid of your boiler, but, 
rather, that you understand your business and realize your 
responsibility. 

I stated before what you should do with the safety-valve 
in starting a new engine. You should also attend to this 
part of it every few days. See that it does not become 
slow to work. You should note the pressure every time 
it blows off ; you know where it ought to blow off, so do n't 
allow it to stick or hold the steam beyond this pressure. 
If you are careful about this, there is no danger about it 
sticking some time when you do n't happen to be watching 
the gauge. The steam-gauge will tell you when the pop 
ought to blow off, and you want to see that it does it. 



STEAM-GAUGE. 

Some engineers call a steam-gauge a " clock." I sup- 
pose they do this because they think it tells them when it 
is time to throw in coal, and when it is time to quit, and 
when it is time for the safety-valve to blow off. If that 



70 The Traction Engine. 

is what they think a steam-gauge is for, I can tell them 
that it is time for them to learn differently. 

It is true that in a certain sense it does tell the engineer 
when to do certain things, but not as a clock would tell 
the time of day. The office of a steam-gauge is to enable 
you to read the pressure on your boiler at all times, the 
same as a scale will enable you to determine the weight 
of any object. 

As this is the duty of the steam-gauge, it is necessary 
that it be absolutely correct, By the use of an unreliable 
gauge you may become thoroughly bewildered, and, in 
reality, know nothing of what pressure you are carrying. 

This will occur in about this way : Your steam-gauge 
becomes weak, and if your safety is set at 100 pounds, it 
will show 110, or even more, before the pop allows the 
steam to escape ; or, if the gauge becomes clogged, the pop 
may blow off when the gauge only shows ninety pounds or 
less. This latter is really more dangerous than the former, 
as you would most naturally conclude that your safety was 
getting weak, and about the first thing you would do 
would be to screw it down so that the gauge w T ould show 
100 before the pop would blow off, when, in fact, you 
would have 110 or more. 

So you can see at once how important it is that your 
gauge and safety should work exactly together, and there 
is but one way to make certain of this, and that is to test 




Fig. 19. — Steam Gauge. Fig. 21.— Safety Valve. 

71 



72 The Traction Engine. 

your steam-gauge. If you know the steam-gauge is cor- 
rect, you can make your safety-valve agree with it ; but 
never try to make it do it till you know the gauge is 
reliable. 

HOW TO TEST A STEAM-GAUGE. 

Take it off and take it to some shop where there is a 
steam boiler in active use ; have the engineer attach your 
gauge where it will receive the direct pressure, and if it 
shows the same as his gauge, it is reasonable to suppose 
that your gauge is correct. If the engineer to whom you 
take your gauge should say he thinks his gauge is weak, 
or a little strong, then go somewhere else. I have already 
told you that I did not want you to think anything about 
your engine — I want you to know it. However, should 
you find that your gauge shoAvs, when tested with another 
gauge, that it is weak or unreliable in any way, you want 
to repair it at once, and the safest way is to get a new 
one ; and yet I would advise you first to examine it and 
see if you can not discover the trouble. It frequently 
happens that the pointer becomes loosened on the journal 
or spindle which attaches it to the mechanism that ope- 
rates it. If this is the trouble, it is easily remedied, but 
should the trouble prove to be in the spring, or the deli- 
cate mechanism, it would be much more satisfactory to 
get a new one. 

In selecting a new gauge you will be better satisfied 



The Boihr. 73 

with a gauge having a double spring or tube, as they are 
loss liable to freeze or become strained from a high press- 
ure, and the double spring will not allow the needle or 
pointer to vibrate when subject to a shock or sudden in- 
crease of pressure, as with the single spring. A careful 
engineer will have nothing to do with a defective steam- 
gauge or an unreliable safety-valve. Some steam-gauges 
are provided with a seal, and as long as this seal is not 
broken, the factory will make it good. 

FUSIBLE PLUG. 

We have told you about a safety-valve ; we will now 
have something to say of a safety plug. A safety, or fusi- 
ble, plug is a hollow brass plug or bolt, screwed into the top 
of the crown sheet, the hole through the plug being filled 
with some soft metal that will fuse at a much less tem- 
perature than is required to burn iron. The heat from 
the fire-box will have no effect on this fusible plug as long 
as the crown sheet is covered w^ith water, but the moment 
that the water level falls below the top of the crown sheet, 
thereby exposing the plug, this soft metal is melted and 
runs out, allowing the steam to rush down through the 
opening in the plug, putting out the fire and preventing 
any injury to the boiler. This all sounds very nice, but I 
am free to confess that I am not an advocate of a fusible 
plug. After telling you to never allow the water to get 



74 The Traction Engine. 

low, and then to say there is something to even make this 
allowable, sounds very much like the preacher who told 
his boy " never to go fishing on Sunday, but if he did go 
to be sure and bring home the fish." I would have no 
objection to the safety plug if the engineer did not know 
it was there. I am aware that some States require that 
all engines be fitted with a fusible plug. I do not ques- 
tion their good intentions, but I do question their good 
judgment. It seems to me they are granting a license to 
carelessness. For instance, an engineer is running with a 
low gauge of water, owing possibly to the tank being de- 
layed longer than usual ; he knows the water is getting 
low, but he says to himself, a well, if the water gets too 
low I will only blow out the plug," and so he continues 
to run until the tank arrives. If the plug holds, he at 
once begins to pump in cold water, and most likely does 
it on a very hot sheet, which, of itself, is something he 
never should do ; and if the plug does blow out, he is 
delayed a couple of hours, at least, before he can put in a 
new plug and get up steam again. Now, suppose he had 
not had a soft plug (as they are sometimes called) : he 
would have stopped before he had low water. He would 
not even have had a hot crown sheet, and would only 
have lost the time he waited on the tank. This is not a 
fancied circumstance by any means, for it happens every 
day. The engineer running an engine with a safety plug 



The Boiler. 75 

seldom stops for a load of water until he blows out the 
plug. It frequently happens that a fusible plug becomes 
corroded to such an extent that it will stand a heat suffi- 
cient to burn the iron. This is my greatest objection to 
it. The engineer continues to rely on it for safety, the 
same as if it were in perfect order, and the ultimate result 
is he burns or cracks his crown sheet. I have already 
stated that I have no objection to the plug if the engineer 
did not know it was there, so if you must use one, attend 
to it, and every time you clean your boiler scrape the 
upper or water end of the plug with a knife, and be care- 
ful to remove any corrosive matter that may have col- 
lected on it ; and then treat your boiler exactly as though 
there were no such a thing as a safety plug in it. A safety 
plug was not designed to let you run with any lower gauge 
of water. It is placed there to prevent injury to the 
boiler in case of an accident, or when, by some means, 
you might be deceived in your gauge of water, or if, by 
mistake, a fire was started without any water in the boiler. 
Should the plug melt out, it is necessary to replace it at 
once or as soon as the heat will permit you to do so. It 
might be a saving of time to have an extra plug always 
ready, then all you have to do is to remove the melted one 
by unscrewing it from the crown sheet and screwing the 
extra one in. But if you have no extra plug you must 
remove the first one and refill it with babbitt. You can 



76 The Traction Engine. 

do this by filling one end of the plug with wet clay and 
pouring the metal into the other end, and then pounding 
it down smooth to prevent any leaking. This done, you 
can screw the plug back into its place. 

If you should have two plugs, as soon as you have 
melted out one replace it with the new one and refill the 
other at your earliest convenience. By the time you have 
replaced a fusible plug a few times in a hot boiler you 
will conclude it is better to keep water over your crown 
sheet. 

LEAKY FLUES. 

What makes flues leak ? I asked this question once, 
and the answer was that the flues were not large enough 
to fill up the hole in flue sheet. This struck me as being 
funny at first, but on second thought I concluded it was 
about correct. Flues may leak from several causes, but 
usually it can be traced to the carelessness of some one. 
You may have noticed before this that I am inclined to 
blame a great many things on carelessness. Well, by the 
time you have run an engine a year or two you will con- 
clude that I am not unjust in my suspicions. I do not 
blame engineers for everything, but I do say that they are 
responsible for a great many things which they endeavor 
to shift on to the manufacturer. If the flues in a new 
boiler leak, it is evident that they were slighted by the 
boiler-maker ; but should they run a season, or part of a 



The Boiler. 77 

season, before leaking, then it would indicate that the 
boiler-maker did his duty, but the engineer did not do his. 
He has been building too hot a fire to begin with, or has 
been letting his fire door stand open ; or he may have 
overtaxed his boiler ; or else he has been blowing out his 
boiler when too hot ; or has at some time blown out with 
some fire in fire-box. Now, any one of these things repeated 
a few times will make the best of them leak. You have 
been advised already not to do these things, and if you do 
them, or any one of them, I want to know what better 
word there is to express it than " carelessness." 

There are other things that will make your flues leak. 
Pumping cold water into a boiler with a low gauge of 
water will do it, if it does nothing more serious. Pouring 
cold water into a hot boiler will do it. For instance, if 
for any reason you should blow out your boiler while in 
the field, and as you might be in a hurry to get to work, 
you would not let the iron cool before beginning to refill. 
I have seen an engineer pour water into a boiler as soon as 
the escaping steam would admit it. The flues can not stand 
such treatment, as they are thinner than the shell or flue 
sheet, and therefore cool much quicker, and in contracting 
are drawn from the flue sheet, and, as a matter of course, 
must leak. A flue, when once started to leak, seldom 
stops without being set up, and one leaky flue will start 
others, and what are you going to do about it ? Are you 



78 The Traction Engine. 

going to send to a boiler shop and get a boiler-maker to 
come out and fix them and pay him from forty to sixty 
cents an hour for doing it ? I do n't kno.w but that you 
must the first time, but if you are going to make a busi- 
ness of making your flues leak, you had best learn how to 
do it yourself. You can do it if you are not too big to 
get into the fire door. You should provide yourself with 
a flue expander and a calking tool with a machinist's 
hammer (not too heavy). Take into the fire-box with you 
a piece of clean waste with which you will wipe off the 
ends of the flues and flue sheet to remove any soot or 
ashes that may have collected around them. After this 
is done you will force the expander into the flues, driving 
it well up in order to bring the shoulder of expander up 
snug against the head of the flues. Then drive the taper- 
ing pin into the expander. By driving the pin in too far 
you may spread the flue sufficient to crack it, or you are 
more liable, by expanding too hard, to spread the hole in 
flue sheet and thereby loosen other flues. You must be 
careful about this. When you think you have expanded 
sufficient, hit the pin a side blow in order to loosen it and 
turn the expander about one-quarter of a turn, and drive 
it up as before ; loosen up and continue to turn as before 
until you have made the entire circle of flues. Then 
remove the expander and you are ready for your header 



The Boiler. 70 

or calking tool. It is best to expand all the fines that are 
leaking before beginning with the beacler. 

The header is used by placing the gauge or guide end 
within the flue/ and with your light hammer the flue can 
be calked or beaded down against the flue sheet. Be care- 
ful to use vour hammer light! v so as not to bruise the 
flues or sheet. When you have gone over all the expanded 
flues in this way, you (if you have been careful) will not 
only have a good job, but will conclude that you are some- 
what of an expert at it. I never saw r a man go into a fire- 
box and stop the leak but that he came out well pleased 
with himself. The fact that a fire-box is no pleasant 
workshop may have something to do with it. If your 
flues have been leaking badly, and you have expanded 
them, it would be well to test your boiler with cold water 
pressure to make sure that you have a good job. 

How are you going to test your boiler ? If you can 
attach to a hydrant do so, and when you have given your 
boiler all the pressure you want, you can then examine your 
flues carefully, and should you find any leaking of water, 
you can use your header lightly until all such leaks are 
stopped. If the waterworks will not afford you sufficient 
pressure you can bring it up to the required pressure by 
attaching a hydraulic pump or a good force pump. 

In testing for the purpose of ascertaining if you have 



80 The Traction Engine. 

a good job on your flues, it is not necessary to put on any 
greater cold-water pressure than you are in the habit of 
carrying. For instance, if your safety-valve is set at 110 
pounds, this pressure of cold water will be sufficient to 
test the flues. 

Now, suppose you are out in the field and want to test 
your flues. Of course, you have no hydrant to attach to, 
and you happen not to have a force pump — it would seem 
you were in bad shape to test your boiler with cold water. 
Well, you can do it by proceeding in this way : When 
you have expanded and beaded all the flues that were 
leaking, you will then close the throttle tight, take off the 
safety-valve (as this is generally attached at the highest 
point) and fill the boiler full, as it is absolutely necessary 
that all the space in the boiler should be filled with cold 
water. Then screw the safety-valve back in its place. 
You will then get back in the fire-box with your tools and 
have some one place a small sheaf of wheat or oat-straw 
under the fire-box and set fire to it. The expansive force 
of the water caused by the heat from the burning straw 
will produce pressure desired. You should know, how- 
ever, that your safety is in perfect order. When the 
water begins to escape at the safety-valve, you can readily 
see if you have expanded your flues sufficiently to keep 
them from leaking. 

This makes a very nice and steady pressure, and al- 



The llnUrr. 81 

though the pressure is caused by heat, it is a cold-water 
pressure, as the water is not heated beyond one or two 
degrees. This mode of testing, however, can not be ap- 
plied in very cold weather, as water has no expansive force 
live degrees above or five degrees below the freezing 
point. 

This manner of testing a boiler was first employed a 
few years ago in the extreme Northwest by an engine 
expert, who was not only an expert but an artist in his 
line, and one who believed thoroughly in the old adage, 
" Where there is a will there is a way," and this was his 
way when he was required to test the boiler with cold 
water and had no pump. While this will answer the 
purpose, I only mention it as a means of testing when it 
must be done and you have no other way of doing it. A 
force pump is much to be preferred, as with it you can 
vary your pressure and hold it where you desire. 

These tests, however, are only for the purpose of trying 
your flues and are not intended to ascertain the efficiency 
or strength of your boiler. When this is required, I 
would advise you to get an expert to do it, as the best test 
for this is the hammer test, and only an expert should 
attempt it. 



82 The Traction Engine. 

STRAW-BURNING BOILERS. 

Before we leave the question of boilers we want to give 
you a short description of a class of boilers, which are 
intended to be used in places where coal or wood is expen- 
sive and where straw is practically valueless. It is not 
necessary to point out that you can not fire straw under a 
boiler intended to burn coal or even wood and expect to 
get good results. If straw is to be used for fuel the fire- 
box must be arranged for this purpose. Many manu- 
facturers supply special fittings by which one of their 
coal-burning boilers can be converted into a straw burner 
by removing the grate-bars and substituting others in- 
tended for the burning of straw. In most cases, however, 
special boilers are supplied when the use of straw as a 
fuel is specified. 

The boiler mostly used for this purpose is of the loco- 
motive type, and is exactly like the one used for burning 
coal, except in regard to the fire-box. 

In nearly all the fire-boxes used for this kind of fuel 
some kind of a shield is introduced across the back of the 
fire-box, in order to prevent any unburned fuel to reach the 
flues, and choke them, and also to insure a more perfect 
combustion of the fuel as well as to protect the crown- 
sheet from the direct flame. 

On account of the very light nature of this fuel, a more 



The Boiler. 



83 




Hi 
M 
O 

PQ 
3 

M 

P 



-1 

o 
p 



s 



O 

oq 

i 



M 



84 The Traction Engine. 

liberal supply of air is necessary for perfect combustion, 
and this demand is taken care of by an additional amount 
of air-ducts, mostly located in the rear of the ashpit behind 
the grate bars. For the same reason special precautions 
must also be taken for the introduction of the straw into 
the fire-box. 

The cut, Fig. 22, represents a sectional view of one of 
Port Huron's straw-burning boilers. The straw is intro- 
duced into the fire-box through the upper funnel, which 
is provided with an inward swinging door automatically 
closing the funnel as soon as the fuel is pushed through. 
The same kind of hinged door is also furnished for the 
ashpit. In the rear of the fire-box an opening has been 
provided in order to admit an additional amount of air, 
the quantity of which is adjusted by a sliding door. If 
you examine the cut carefully you will note that the front 
part of the grate bars nearest to the fire-door has no pro- 
visions for air-spaces. This arrangement has for object 
to localize the fire as much as possible in the rear of the 
fire-box. It also serves to catch all the chaff dropping 
from the straw and allow it to be burned instead of 
dropping directly through into the ashpit. 

You will also note that a cast-iron shield or a " baffle 
plate " extends from the extreme end of the fire-box 
below the tubes nearly to the front, ending a little above 
the fire-door and leaving only a small space between the 



The Boiler. 85 

"baffle plate" and the front of the fire-box. The result 
of this arrangement is that the fuel, introduced through 
the above-mentioned funnel, meets the hot gases of the 
burnt straw, as well as an additional supply of air entering 
at the rear of the fire-box, and is very completely burnt, 
leaving very little unburnt fuel to escape into the flues. 
The arrows in the cut show the direction of the draught 
through the fire-box. The draught enters through the 
draught-hole below the fire funnel ; some of the air passes 
through the grate, while a part of it goes along under and 
around the front end of the grates and up alongside the 
inner wall of the fire-box, striking the baffle plate and 
the newly introduced fuel. This draught of air passing 
under the baffle plate not only keeps it relatively cool, 
but also introduces fresh air where it is most useful for 
increasing the combustion. 

In this boiler the ashes are removed through the front 
of the ashpit, and only air admitted from the rear or 
through the opening under the fuel funnel. 

A small door directly above the fuel funnel allows the 
fireman to quickly clean the flues even when the engine is 
in operation. 

In order to allow the flue-cleaner to reach the flues the 
baffle plate is cast with a box-like depression opposite 
this door, as can be seen from the cut. 

Due to the inflammable nature of the fuel, special 



86 The Traction Engine. 

precautions must be taken in order to prevent sparks or 
cinders to issue from the smokestack. 

Most of the boilers designed for burning straw have 
for this reason their smoke-box made somewhat longer, as 
this prevents to a great extent the sparks to be blown 
through into the smokestack. 

Various other devices are also used. They consist 
mostly of conical or spherical screens fitted inside or on 
top of the smokestack, which in the straw burners are 
somewhat longer than those generally used on a coal- or a 
wood-burning boiler. 



PART FIFTH. 
A GOOD FIREMAN. 



What is a good fireman ? You no doubt have heard 
this expression : " Where there is so much smoke there 
must be some fire." Well, that is true, but a good fire- 
man does n't make much smoke. We are now speaking of 
firing with coal. If I can see the smoke ten miles from a 
threshing engine, I can tell what kind of a fireman is run- 
ning the engine ; and if there is a continuous cloud of 
black smoke being thrown out of the smokestack, I make 
up my mind that the engineer is having all he can do to 
keep the steam up, and also conclude that there will not 
be much coal left by the time he gets through with the 
job ; while, on the other hand, should I see at regular in- 
tervals a cloud of smoke going up and lasting for a few 
minutes, and for the next few minutes see nothing, then I 
conclude that the engineer of that engine knows his busi- 
ness, and that he is not working hard ; he has plenty of 
steam all the time, and has coal left w r hen he is through. 

87 



88 The Traction Engine. 

So let us go and see what makes this difference and learn 
a valuable lesson. We will first go to the engine that is 
making such a big smoke, and we will find that the en- 
gineer has a big coal-shovel just small enough to allow it 
to enter the fire door. You will see the engineer throw in 
about two or perhaps three shovels of coal, and as a matter 
of course we will see a volume of black smoke issuing 
from the stack ; the engineer stands leaning on his shovel 
watching the steam-gauge, and he finds that the steam 
does n't run up very fast, and about the time the coal gets 
hot enough to consume the smoke we will see him drop 
his shovel, pick up a poker, throw open the fire door, and 
commence a vigorous punching and digging at the fire. 
This starts the black smoke again, and about this time we 
will see him down on his knees with his poker, punching 
at the under side of the grate bars ; about the time he is 
through with this operation the smoke is coming out less 
dense, and he thinks it time to throw in more coal, and 
he does it. Now, this is kept up all day, and you must 
not read this and say it is overdrawn, for it is not, and 
you can see it every day, and the engineer that fires in 
this way works hard, burns a great amount of coal, and is 
afraid all the time that the steam will run down on him. 

Before leaving him let us take a look in his fire-box, 
and we will see that it is full of coal, at least up to the 
level of the fire door. \Te will also see quite a pile of 



A Good Fireman. 89 

ashes under the ash-pan. You can better understand the 
disadvantage of this way of firing after we visit the next 
man. I think a good way to know how to do a thing is 
to know, also, how not to do it. 

Well, we will now go across to the man who is making 
but little smoke, and making that at regular intervals. 
We will be likely to find that he has only a little hand 
shovel. He picks this up, takes up a small amount of 
coal, opens the fire door, and spreads the coal nicely over 
the grates ; does this quickly and shuts the door ; for a 
minute black smoke is thrown out, but only for a minute. 
Why ? Because he threw hi only enough to replenish the 
fire, and not to choke it in the least, and in a minute the 
heat is great enough to consume all the smoke before it 
reaches the stack, and as smoke is unconsumed fuel, he 
gains that much if he can consume it. We will see this 
engineer standing around for the next few minutes per- 
fectly at ease. He is not in the least afraid of his steam 
going dow r n, at the end of three to five minutes, owing to 
the amount of work he is doing. You will see him pick 
up his little shovel and throw in a little coal ; he does ex- 
actly as he did before, and if we stay there for an hour 
we will not see him pick up a poker. We will look in 
at his fire-box, and we will see what is called a " thin fire," 
but every part of the fire-box is hot. We will see but a 



90 The Traction Engine. 

small pile of ashes under his engine. He is not working 
hard. 

If you happen to be thinking of buying an engine, 
you will say that this last fellow " has a dandy engine." 
" That is the kind of an engine I want," when the facts 
in the case may be that the first man may have a better 
engine, but does n't know how to fire it. Now, do n't you 
see how important it is that you know how to fire an en- 
gine ? I am aware that some big coal wasters will say, 
" It is easy to talk about firing with a little hand shovel, 
but just get out in the field as we do and get some of the 
kind of fuel we have to burn, and see how you get 
along." Well, I am aware that you will have some bad 
coal. It is much better to handle bad coal in a good way 
than to handle good coal in a bad w^ay. Learn to handle 
your fuel in the proper way and you will be a good fire- 
man. Don't get careless and then blame the coal for 
what is your own fault. Be careful about this, you might 
give yourself away. I have seen engineers make a big 
kick about the fuel and claim that it was no good, when 
some other fellow would take hold of the engine and have 
no trouble whatever. Now, this is what I call a clean 
give-away on the kicker. 

Do n't allow any one to be a better fireman than your- 
self. You will see a good fireman do exactly as I have 



A Good Fireman. 91 

stated. He fires often, always keeps a level fire, never 
allows the coal to get up to the lower tubes, always puts in 
coal before the steam begins to drop, keeps the fire door 
open as little as possible, preventing any cold air from 
striking the tubes, which will not only check the steam, 
but is injurious to the boiler. 

It is no small matter to know just how to handle your 
dampers ; do n't allow too much of an opening here. You 
will keep a much more even fire by keeping the damper 
down, just allowing draft enough to permit free combus- 
tion ; more than this is a waste of heat. 

Get all out of the coal you can, and save all you get. 
Learn the little points that half the engineers never think of. 

WOOD. 

You will find wood quite different in some respects, 
but the good points you have learned will be useful now. 
Fire quick and often, but unlike coal you must keep your 
fire-box full. Place your wood as loosely as possible. I 
mean by this, place in all directions to allow the draft to 
pass freely all through it. Keep adding a couple of sticks 
as fast as there is room for them ; do n't disturb the under 
sticks. Use short wood and fire close to the door. AVhen 
firing with wood I would advise you to keep your screen 
down. There is much more danger of setting fire with 
wood than with coal. 



92 The Traction Engine. 

If you are in a dangerous place, owing to the wind and the 
surroundings, do n't hesitate to state your fears to the man 
for whom you are threshing. He is not supposed to know 
the danger as well as you, and if, after your advice, he 
says go ahead, you have placed the responsibility on him ; 
but even after you have done this it sometimes shows a 
good head to refuse to fire with wood, especially when 
you are required to fire with old rails, which is a common 
fuel in a timbered country. While they make a hot fire 
in a fire-box, they sometimes start a hot one outside of it. 
It is part of your business to be as careful as you can. 
What I mean is to take reasonable precaution, such as 
looking after the screen in the stack. If it burns out, get a 
new one. With reasonable diligence and care you will 
never set anything on fire, while, on the other hand, a care- 
less engineer may do quite a lot of damage. 

There is fire about an engine, and you are provided 
with the proper appliances to control it. See that you 
do it, 

WHY GRATES BURN OUT. 

Grates burn through carelessness. You may as well 
make up your mind to this at the start. You never saw 
grate bars burn out with a clean ash-box. They can only 
be burned by allowing the ashes to accumulate under 
them until they exclude the air, when the bars at once be- 
come red hot. The first thing they do is to warp, and if 



A Good Fireman. 93 

the ashes are not removed at once, the grate bar will burn 
off. Carelessness is neglecting something which is a part 
of your business, and as part of it is to keep your ash-box 
clean, it certainly is carelessness if you neglect it. Your 
coal may melt and run down on the bars, but if the cold 
air can get to the grates, the only damage this will do is 
to form a clinker on the top of grates, and shut off your 
draft. When you find that you have this kind of coal 
you will want to look after these clinkers. 

Now, if you should have good success in keeping steam, 
keep improving on what you know, and if you run on 
1000 pounds of coal to-day, try and do it with 900 to- 
morrow. That is the kind of stuff a good fireman is 
made of. 

But do n't conclude that you can do the same amount of 
work each day in the week on the same amount of fuel, 
even if it should be of the same kind. You will find that 
with all your care and skill your engine will differ very 
materially, both as to the amount of fuel and water that 
it will require, though the conditions may apparently be 
the same. 

This may be as good a time as any to say to you : 
Remember that a blast of cold air against the tubes is a 
bad thing, so be careful about your fire door ; open it as 
little as possible ; when you want to throw in fuel, do n't 
open the door and then go a rod away after a shovel of 



94 The Traction Engine. 

coal ; and I will say here that I have seen this thing 
done by men who flattered themselves that they were 
about at the top in the matter of running an engine. 
That kind of treatment will ruin the best boiler in exist- 
ence. I do n't mean that once or twice will do it, but to 
keep it up will do it. Get your shovel of coal, and when 
you are ready to throw it in, open the door quickly and 
close it at once. Make it one of your habits to do this, 
and you will never think of doing it in any other way. 
If it becomes necessary to stop your engine with a hot fire 
and a high pressure of steam, do n't throw your door open, 
but drop your damper and open the smoke-box door. 

If, however, you expect to stop only a minute or two, 
drop your damper and start your injector if you have 
one. If you have none, get one. It is not my intention 
to advertise anything in this book, but I believe I can 
make it more valuable to you by mentioning a few things 
that I have tried thoroughly and found satisfactory. The 
Eberman Injector, made by J. Register & Sons, Baltimore, 
Maryland, is one of the good things for a traction engine. 
The Penberthy Injector, made by the Penberthy Injector 
Co., Detroit, Michigan, is also a good one. I shall also 
mention a good brand of cylinder oil, when I am ready 
for it, also a good reliable safety-valve, a steam-gauge, etc. 
These are things that you may want sometimes, and when 
you spend your good money you should get something 



A Good Fireman. 95 

reliable, and if these parties make a good article, it is due 
them that they be patronized. And when I say a certain 
article is good, I say it simply because I know it from 
experience, and do n't mean to say that others are not 
good. If a friend of mine should ask me what I would 
advise him to use, I certainly would not advise him to get 
something I knew nothing of, and it is due the reader 
(inasmuch as he has paid for it) that I give him the 
benefit of my experience, that he may spend his money, 
when he niust, where it will give him satisfaction. 



THE BLOWER. 

The blower is an appliance for creating artificial draft, 
and consists of a small pipe leading from some point above 
the water line into the smoke-stack, directly over the tubes, 
and should extend to the center of stack and terminate 
with a nozzle pointing directly to top and center of stack ; 
this pipe is fitted with a globe valve. When it is required 
to rush your fire, you can do so by opening this globe and 
allowing the steam to escape into the stack. The force of 
the steam tends to drive the air out of the stack and the 
smoke-box, and create a strong draft. But, you say, 
" What if I have no steam ? " Well, then do n't blow, 
and be patient till you have enough to create a draft ; 



96 The Traction Engine. 

and it has been my experience that there is nothing 
gained by putting on the blower before having fifteen 
pounds of steam, as less pressure than this will create but 
little draft, and the steam will escape about as fast as 
it is being generated. Be patient and do n't be everlast- 
ingly punching at the fire. Get your fuel in good shape 
in the fire-box, and shut the door and go about your busi- 
ness and let the fire burn. 

Must the blower be used while working the engine ? 
No. The exhaust steam which escapes into the stack does 
exactly what we stated the blower does, and if it is neces- 
sary to use the blower in order to keep up steam, you can 
conclude that your engine is in bad shape, and yet there 
are times when the blower is necessary, even when your 
engine is in the best of condition. For instance, when 
you have poor fuel and are working your engine very 
light, the exhaust steam may not be sufficient to create 
enough draft for poor coal, or wet or green wood. But 
if you are working your engine hard the blower should 
never be used ; if you have bad fuel and it is necessary 
to stop your engine, you will find it very convenient to 
put on the blower slightly, in order to hold your steam 
and keep the fire lively until you start again. 

It Avill be a good plan for you to take a look at the 
nozzle on blower now and then, to see that it does not 



A Good Fireman. 07 

become limed up, and to see that it is not turned to the 
side so that it directs the steam to the side of stack. 
Should it do this, you will be using the steam and getting 
but little, if any, benefit. It will also be well for you to 
remember that you can create too much draft as well as 
too little. Too much draft will consume your fuel and 
produce but little steam. 



PART SIXTH. 
THE ENGINE. 



Any young engineer who will make use of what he 
has read will never get his engine into much trouble a 
Manufacturers of farm engines to-day make a specialty 
of this class of goods, and they endeavor to build them as 
simple and of as few parts as possible. They do this 
well knowing that, as a rule, they must be run by men 
who can not take a course in practical engineering. If 
each one of the many thousands of engines that are 
turned out every year had to have a practical engineer 
to run it, it would be better to be an engineer than to 
own the engine ; and manufacturers knowing this, make 
their engines as simple and with as little liability 
to get out of order as possible. The simplest form 
of an engine, however, requires of the operator a certain 
amount of brains and a willingness to do that which he 
knows should be done ; and if you will follow the in- 
structions you have already received, you can run your 

98 










w 



6 



LofC. 



100 The Traction Engine. 

engine as successfully as any one can wish as long as your 
engine is in order, and, as I have just stated, it is not 
liable to get out of order except from constant wear, and 
this wear will appear in the boxes, journals, and valve. 
The brasses on wrist-pin and crosshead will probably re- 
quire your first and most careful attention, and of these 
two the wrist-box will require the most ; and what is true 
of one is true of both boxes. It is, therefore, not neces- 
sary to take up both boxes in instructing you how to 
handle them. We will take up the box most likely to 
require your attention. This is the wrist-box. You will 
find this box in two parts or halves. In a new engine 
you will find that these two halves do not meet on the 
wrist-pin by at least \ of an inch. They are brought 
up to the pin by means of a wedge-shaped key. (I am 
speaking now of the most common form of wrist-boxes. 
If your engine should not have this key, it will have 
something which serves the same purpose.) As the 
brasses wear you can take up this wear by forcing the key 
down, which brings the two halves close together. You 
can continue to gradually take up this wear until you 
have brought them together. You will then see that it is 
necessary to do something in order to take up any more 
wear, and this " something " is to take out the brasses 
and file about -^ of an inch off of each brass. This will 
allow you another eighth of an inch to take up in wear. 



The Engine. 101 

Now, here is a nice little problem for you to solve and I 
want you to solve it to your own satisfaction, and when 
you do you will thoroughly understand it, and to under- 
stand it is to never allow it to get you into trouble. We 
started out by saying that in a new engine you would 
most likely find about \ of an inch between the brasses, 
and we said you would finally get these brasses or halves 
together and would have to take them out and file them. 
Now, we have taken up \ of an inch, and the result is we 
have lengthened our pitman just -^ of an inch ; or, in 
other words, the center of wrist-pin and the center of 
crosshead are just ^ of an inch further apart than they 
were before any wear had taken place, and the piston head 
has -^ of an inch more clearance at one end and -^ of an 
inch less at the other end than it had before. Now, if we 
take out the boxes and file them so we have another eighth 
of an inch, by the time we have taken up this wear we will 
then have this distance doubled, and we will soon have the 
piston head striking the end of the cylinder, and, besides, 
the engine will not run as smooth as it did. Half of the 
wear comes off of each half, and the half next to the key 
is brought up to the wrist-pin because of the tapering key, 
while the outside half remains in one place. You must 
therefore place back of this half a thin piece of sheet 
copper, or a piece of tin will do. Now, suppose our boxes 
had | of an inch for wear ; when we have taken up this 



102 The Traction Engine. 

much we must put in -^ of an inch backing (as it is 
called), for we have reduced the outside half by just that 
amount. We have also reduced the front half the same, 
but, as we have said, the tapering key brings this half up 
to its place. 

Now, we think we have made this clear enough and 
we will leave this and go back to the key again. You 
must remember that we stated that the key was tapering 
or a wedged-shape, and, as a wedge, is equally as powerful 
as a screw ; and you must bear in mind that a slight tap 
will bring these two boxes up tight against the wrist-pin. 
Young engineers experience more trouble with this box 
than with any other part of the engine, and all because 
they do not know how to manage it. You should be very 
careful not to get your box too tight, and do n't imagine 
that every time there is a little knock about your engine 
that you can stop it by driving the key down a little 
more. This is a great mistake that many, and even old, 
engineers make. I at one time saw a wrist-pin and boxes 
ruined by the engineer trying to stop a knock that came 
from a loose fly-wheel. It is a fact, and one that has 
never been satisfactorily explained, that a knock coming 
from almost any part of an engine will appear to be in the 
wrist. So bear this in mind and do n't allow yourself to 
be deceived in this way, and never try to stop a knock 
until you have first located the trouble beyond a doubt. 



The Engine. 103 

When it becomes necessary to key up your brasses, 
you will find it a good safe way to loosen up the set screw 
which holds the key, then drive it down till you are satis- 
fied you have it tight. Then drive it back again and then 
with your fist drive the key down as far as you can. You 
may consider this a peculiar kind of a hammer, but your 
boxes will rarely ever heat after being keyed in this 
manner. 

KNOCK IN ENGINES. 

What makes an engine knock or pound ? A loose 
pillow block box is a good " knocker." The pillow block 
is a box next crank or disc wheel. This box is usually 
fitted with set bolts and jam nuts. You must also be 
careful not to set this up too tight, remembering always 
that a box when too tight begins to heat, and this expands 
the journal, causing greater friction. A slight turn of a 
set bolt one way or the other may be sufficient to cool a 
box that may be running hot, or to heat one that may be 
running cool. A hot box from neglect of oiling can be 
cooled by supplying oil, provided it has not already com- 
menced to cut. If it shows any sign of cutting, the only 
safe way is to remove the box and clean it thoroughly. 

Loose eccentric yokes will make a knock in an engine, 
and it may appear to be in the wrist. You will find pack- 
ing between the two halves of the yoke. Take out a thin 
sheet of this packing, but do n't take out too much, as you 



104 The Traction Engine. 

are liable then to get them too tight, and they may stick 
and cause your eccentrics to slip. We will have more to 
say about the slipping of the eccentrics. 

The piston rod loose in crosshead will make a knock, 
which also appears in the wrist, but it is not there. Tighten 
the piston and you will stop it. 

The crosshead loose in the guides will make it knock. 
If the crosshead is not provided for taking up this wear, 
you can take off the guides and file them enough to allow 
them to come up to the crosshead, but it is much better 
to have them planed off, which insures the guides coming 
up square against the crosshead and thus prevent any 
heating or cutting. 

A loose fly-wheel will most likely puzzle you more than 
anything else to find the knock. So remember this : The 
wheel may apparently be tight, but should the key be the 
least bit narrow for the groove in shaft, it will make 
your engine bump very similar to that caused by too 
much or too little " lead." 

LEAD. 

What is lead ? Lead is a space or opening of port on 
steam end of cylinder when engine is on dead center 
(dead center is the two points of disc or crank wheel at 
which the crank pin is in direct line with piston, and at 
which no amount of steam will start the engine). Differ-: 






The Engine. 105 

ent makes of engines differ to such an extent that it is 
impossible to give any rule or any definite amount of lead 
for an engine. For instance, an engine with a port six 
inches long and \ of an inch wide would require much 
less lead than one with a port four inches long and one 
inch wide. Suppose I should say -^ of an inch was the 
proper lead. In one engine you would have an opening 
-jig of an inch wide and six inches long, and in the other 
you would have -^ of an inch wide and four inches long ; 
so you can readily see that it is impossible to give the 
amount of lead for an engine. Lead allows live steam to 
enter the cylinder just ahead of the piston at the point of 
finishing the stroke, and forms a " cushion," and enables 
the engine to pass the center without a jar. Too much lead 
is a source of weakness to an engine, as it allows the steam 
to enter the cylinder too soon and forms a back pressure, 
and tends to prevent the engine from passing the center. 
It will, therefore, make your engine bump, and make it 
very difficult to hold the packing in stuffing-box. 

Insufficient lead will not allow enough steam to enter 
the cylinder ahead of piston to afford cushion enough to 
stop the inertia, and the result will be that your engine 
will pound on the wrist-pin. You most likely have con- 
cluded by this time that " lead " is no small factor in the 
smooth running of an engine, and you, as a matter of 
course, will want to know how you are to obtain the proper 



106 The Traction Engine. 

lead. Well, don't worry yourself. Your. engine is not 
going to have too much lead to-day and not enough to- 
morrow. If your engine was properly set up in the first 
place, the lead will be all right, and continue to afford the 
proper lead as long as the valve has not been disturbed 
from its original position ; and this brings us to the most 
important duty of an engineer as far as the engine is con- 
cerned, viz., setting the valve. 

SETTING A VALVE. 

The proper aiid accurate setting of a valve on a steam 
engine is one of the most important duties that you will 
have to perform, as it requires a nicety of calculation and 
a mechanical accuracy. And when we remember also 
that this is another one of the things for which no uniform 
rule can be adopted, owing to the many circumstances 
which go to make an engine so different under different 
conditions, we find it very difficult to give you the light 
on this part of your duty which we would wish to. We, 
however, hope to make it so clear to you that by the aid 
of the engine before you you can readily understand the 
conditions and principles which control the valve in the 
particular engine which you may have under your man- 
agement. 

The power and economy of an engine depend largely 
on the accurate operation of its valve. It is, therefore, 



The Engine. 107 

necessary that you know how to reset it, should it become 
necessary to do so. 

An authority says, " Bring your engine to a dead center, 
and then adjust your valve to the proper lead." This is 
all right as far as it goes, but how are you to find the dead 
center ? I know that it is a common custom in the field 
to bring the engine to a center by the use of the eye. 
You may have a good eye, but it is not good enough to 
depend on for the accurate setting of a valve. 

HOW TO FIND THE DEAD CENTER. 

First, provide yourself with a " tram." This you ?can 
do by taking a \ inch iron rod, about eighteen inches 
long, and bend about two inches of one end to a sharp 
angle. Then sharpen both ends to a nice sharp point. 
Now fasten securely a block of hard wood somewhere 
near the face of the fly-wheel, so that when the straight 
end of your tram is placed at a definite point in the block, 
the other, or hook end, will reach the crow T n of the fly- 
wheel. 

Be certain that the block can not move from its place, 
and be careful to place the tram at exactly the same point 
on the block at each time you bring the tram into use. 
You are now ready to proceed to find the dead center, 
and in doing this remember to turn the fly-wheel always 
in the same direction. Now turn your engine over until 



108 The Traction Engine. 

it nears one of the centers, but not quite to it. You will 
then, by the aid of a straight-edge, make a clear and dis- 
tinct mark across the guides and crosshead. Now go 
around to the fly-wheel and place the straight end of the 
tram at some point on the block, and with the hook end 
make a mark across the crown or center of face of fly- 
wheel ; now turn your engine past the center and on to 
the point at which the line on crosshead is exactly in line 
with the lines on guides. Now place your tram in the 
same place as before, and make another mark across the 
crown of the fly-wheel. By the use of dividers find the 
exact center between the two marks made on fly-wheel ; 
mark this point with a center-punch. Now bring the 
fly-wheel to the point at which, when the tram is placed at 
its proper place on block, the hook end, or point, will 
touch this punch-mark, and you will have one of the exact 
dead centers. 

Now turn the engine over until it nears the other 
center, and proceed exactly as before, remembering 
always to place the straight end of tram exactly in same 
place in block, and you will find both dead centers as 
accurately as if you had all the fine tools of an engine- 
builder. 

You are now ready to proceed with the setting of your 
valve, and as you have both dead centers to work from, 
you ought to be able to do it, as you do not have to depend 



The Engine. 109 

on your eye to find them, and by the use of the tram you 
turn your engine to exactly the same point every time you 
wish to get a center. 

Now remove the cap on steam-chest, bring your engine 
to a dead center, and give your valve the necessary amount 
of lead on the steam end. Now, we have already stated 
that we could not give you the proper amount of lead for 
an engine. It is presumed that the maker of your engine 
knew the amount best adapted to this engine, and you can 
ascertain his idea of this by first allowing, we will say, 
about y 1 ^- of an inch. Now bring your engine to the 
other center, and if the lead at the other part is less than 
^-, then you must conclude that he intended to allow less 
than Jg- ; but should it show more than this, then it is 
evident that he intended more than -^ lead ; but in either 
case you must adjust your valve so as to divide the space, 
in order to secure the same lead when on either center. 
In the absence of any better tool to ascertain if the lead 
is the same, make a tapering w T ooden wedge of soft wood, 
turn the engine to a center and force the wedge in the 
opening made by the valve hard enough to mark the 
wood ; then turn to the next center, and if the w T edge 
enters the same distance, you are correct ; if not, adjust 
till it does, and when you have it set at the proper place, 
you had best mark it by taking a sharp cold chisel and 
place it so that it will cut into the hub of eccentric and 



HO The Traction Engine. 

in the shaft ; then hit it a smart blow with a hammer. 
This should be done after you have set the set screws in 
eccentric down solid on the shaft. Then, at any time 
should your eccentric slip, you have only to bring it back 
to the chisel mark and fasten it and you are ready to go 
ahead again. 

This is for a plain or single eccentric engine. A double 
or reversible engine, however, is somewhat more difficult 
to handle in setting the valve. Not that the valve itself 
is any different from a plain engine, but from the fact that 
the link may confuse you ; and while the link may be in 
position to run the engine one way, you may be endeavor- 
ing to set the valve to run it the other way. 

The proper way to proceed with this kind of an engine 
is to bring the reverse lever to a position to run the engine 
forward, then proceed to set your valve the same as on a 
plain engine. When you have it at the proper place, 
tighten just enough to keep from slipping, then bring your 
reverse lever to the reverse position and bring your engine 
to the center. If it shows the same lead for the reverse 
motion, you are then ready to tighten your eccentrics 
securely, and they should be marked as before. 

You may imagine that you will have this to do often. 
Well, do n't be scared about it. You may run an engine 
a long time, and never have to set a valve. I have heard 
these windy engineers (you have seen them) say that they 



The Engine. Ill 

had to go and set Mr. A's or Mr. B's valve, when the 
facts were, if they did anything, it was simply to bring 
the eccentrics back to their original position. They hap- 
pened to know that almost all engines are plainly marked 
at the factory, and all there was to do was to bring the 
eccentrics back to these marks and fasten them, and the 
valve w T as set. The slipping of the eccentrics is about 
the only cause for a valve working badly. You should, 
therefore, keep all grease and dirt away from these marks ; 
keep the set-screws well tightened, and notice them fre- 
quently to see that they do not slip. Should they slip a 
^g- part of an inch, a well-educated ear can detect it in 
the exhaust. Should they slip a part of a turn, as they 
will sometimes, the engine may stop instantly, or it may 
cut a few peculiar circles for a minute or two, but do n't 
get excited ; look to the eccentrics at once for the trouble. 
Your engine may, however, act very queerly some time, 
and you may find the eccentrics in their proper place. 
Then you must go into the steam-chest for the trouble. 
The valves in different engines are fastened on the valve 
rod in different ways. Some are held in place by jam nuts ; 
a nut may have worked loose, causing lost motion on the 
valve. This will make your engine work badly. Other 
engines hold their valve by a clamp and pin. This pin 
may work out, and when it does your engine will stop, 
and stop very quickly, too. 



112 The Traction Engine. 

If you thoroughly understand the working of the 
steam, you can readily detect any defect in your cylinder 
or steam-chest by the use of your cylinder cocks. Sup- 
pose we try them. Turn your engine on the forward 
center ; now open the cocks and give the engine the steam 
pressure. If the steam blows out at the forward cock, we 
know that we have sufficient lead. Now turn back to the 
back center, and give it steam again ; if it blows out the 
same at this cock, we can conclude that our valve is in its 
proper position. Now reverse the engine and do the same 
thing ; if the cocks act the same, we know we are right. 
But suppose the steam blows out of one cock all right, and 
when we bring the engine to the other center no steam 
escapes from this cock, then we know that something is 
wrong with the valve ; and if the eccentrics are in their 
proper position, the trouble must be in the steam-chest, 
and if we open it lip we shall find the valve has become 
loosened on the rod. Again, suppose we put the engine 
on a center, and, on giving it steam, we find the steam 
blowing out at both cocks. 

Now, what is the trouble ? — for no engine in perfect 
shape will allow the steam to blow out of both cocks at the 
same time. It is one of two things, and it is difficult to 
tell. Either the cylinder rings leak and allow the steam 
to blow through, or else the valve is cut on the seat, and 
allows the steam to blow over. Either of these two 



The Engine. 113 

causes is bad, as it not only weakens your engine, but is 
a great waste of fuel and water. The way to determine 
which of the two causes this is to take off the cylinder 
head, turn engine on forward center, and open throttle 
slightly. If the steam is seen to blow out of the port at 
open end of cylinder, then the trouble is in the valve ; but 
if not, you will see it blowing through from forward end 
of cylinder, and the trouble is in the cylinder rings. 

What is the remedy ? Well, if the " rings " are the 
trouble, a new set will most likely remedy it should they 
be of the automatic or self-setting pattern ; but should they 
be of the spring or adjusting pattern, you can take out the 
head and set the rings out to stop this blowing. As nearly 
all engines now are using the self-setting rings, you will 
most likely require a new set. 

If the trouble is in the valve or steam-chest, you h^d 
better take it off and have the valve seat planed clown and 
the valve seated to it. This is the safest and best way. 
Never attempt to dress a valve clown ; you are almost 
certain to make a bad job of it, 

LUBRICATING OIL. 

What is oil ? 

Oil is a coating for a journal, or, in other words, is a 
lining between bearings. 

Did you ever stop long enough to ask yourself the 

8 



114 The Traction Engine. 

question ? I doubt it. A great many people buy some- 
thing to use on their engine because it is called oil. Now, 
if the object in using oil is to keep a lining between the 
bearings, is it not reasonable to use something that will 
adhere to that which it is to line or cover ? 

Gasoline will cover a journal for a minute or two ; an oil 
a grade better would last a few minutes longer. Still 
another grade would do somewhat better. Now, if you are 
running your own engine, buy the best oil you can buy. 
You will find it very poor economy to buy cheap oil ; and 
if you are not posted, you may pay price enough but get 
a very poor article. 

If you are running an engine for some one else, make 
it part of your contract that you are furnished with a good 
oil. You can not keep an engine in good shape with a 
cheap oil. You say "you are going to keep your engine 
clean and bright." ISTot if you must use a poor oil. 

Well, how are you to know when you are getting good 
oil ? The best way is to ascertain a good brand and then 
use that and nothing else. We are not selling or adver- 
tising oil, but if you use the " Eldorado Castor Oil " on 
your engine you will have the best, or as good as you can 
buy. How will it work in the cylinder ? Well, it will not 
work there ; it is not intended for cylinder, as it will not 
stand the heat. If you are carrying ninety pounds of 
steam, you will have about 320 degrees of heat in cylin- 
der ; with 120 pounds, you have 341 degrees. 



The Engine. 115 

Now, if you want a lining between your valves and 
valve seat, and between your piston head and surface of , 
cylinder, you want something that will not only stand this 
heat, but stand considerable more, so that it will have 
some staying qualities — " Capital Cylinder Oil " w T ill do 
it. If your link has been knocking, just try this, and if 
it does n't stop, it will be because you have some connec- 
tions that want attention, and want it badly. 

I think " Helmet Oil," as a solid lubricant, is a great 
oil for what it is intended. I can't tell you who makes 
it, but your dealer can get it for you. 

The only objection to the grease is that it requires a 
cilp adapted to its use. Charles I. Beasley & Co., of 
Chicago, manufacture a good cup. While it is not auto- 
matic, I think when you once understand the nature of 
this kind of lubricant you would not pay the difference 
in price between this cup and the automatic cup. 

In attaching these grease-cups on boxes not previously 
arranged for them, it would be well for you to know how 
to do it properly. You will remove the journal, take a 
gauge, and cut a clean groove across the box, starting in 
at one corner, about \ of an inch from the point of box, 
and cut diagonally across, coming out at the opposite cor- 
ner on the other end of box. Then start at the opposite 
corner and run through as before, crossing the first groove 
in the center of box. Groove both halves of box alike, 
being careful not to cut out at either end, as this will 



116 The Traction Engine. 

allow the grease to escape from box and cause unneces- 
sary waste. The chimney or packing in box should be 
cut so as to touch the journal at both ends of box, but not 
in the center or between these two points. So, when the 
cup is brought cfown tight, this will form another reser- 
voir for the grease. If the box is not tapped directly in 
the center for cup, it will be necessary to cut other grooves 
from where it is tapped into the grooves already made. 
A box prepared in this way will require but little atten- 
tion if you use good grease. 

A HOT BOX. 

You will sometimes get a hot box. What is the b^st 
remedy ? Well, I might name you a dozen, and if I did 
you would most likely never have one on hand when it 
was wanted. So I will only give you one, and that is 
white lead and oil, and I want you to provide yourself 
with a can of this useful article. And should a journal 
or box get hot on your hands and refuse to cool with the 
usual methods, remove the cup, and, after mixing a por- 
tion of the lead with oil, put a heavy coat of it on the 
journal, put back the cup, and your journal will cool off 
very quickly. Be careful to keep all grit or dust out of 
your can of lead. Look after this part of it yourself. 
It is your business. 




3 
w 

o 

S 
o 



o 



2 



PART SEVENTH. 
HANDLING A TRACTION ENGINE. 



Before taking up the handling of a traction engine we 
want to tell you of a number of things you are likely to 
do which you ought not to do. 

Do n't open the throttle too quickly, or you may throw 
the drive belt off, and are also more apt to raise the water 
and start priming. 

Don't attempt to start the engine with the cylinder 
cocks closed, but make it a habit to open them when you 
stop ; this will always insure your cylinder being free 
from water on starting. 

Do n't talk too much while on duty. 

Do n't pull the ashes out of ash-pan unless you have a 
bucket of water handy. 

Do n't start the pump when you know you have low 
water. 

Do n't let it get low. 

Do n't let your engine get dirty. 

Do n't say you can't keep it clean. 

118 






Handling a Traction Engine. 119 

Do n't leave your engine at night until you have cov- 
ered it up. 

Do n't let the exhaust nozzle lime up, and do n't allow 
lime to collect where the water enters the boiler, or you 
may split a heater pipe or knock the top off of a check- 
valve. 

Do n't leave your engine in cold weather without first 
draining all pipes. 

Do n't disconnect your engine with a leaky throttle. 

Do n't allow the steam to vary more than ten or fifteen 
pounds while at work. 

Do n't allow any one to fool with your engine. 

Do n't try any foolish experiments on your engine. 

Do n't run an old boiler without first having it thor- 
oughly tested. 

Do n't stop when descending a steep grade. 

Don't pull through a stockyard without first closing 
the damper tight. 

Don't pull on to a strange bridge without first ex- 
amining it. 

Do n't run any risk on a bad bridge. 

A TRACTION ENGINE. 

You may know all about an engine. You may be able 
to build one, and yet run a traction into the ditch the first 
jump. 



120 The Traction Engine. 

It is a fact that some men never can become good 
operators of a traction engine, and I can't give you the 
reason why, any more than you can tell why one man can 
handle a pair of horses better than another man who has 
had the same advantages. And yet, if you do ditch your 
engine a few times, do n't conclude that you can never 
handle a traction. 

If you are going to run a traction engine I would 
advise you to use your best efforts to become an expert 
at it. For the expert will hook up to his load and get 
out of the neighborhood while the awkward fellow is 
getting his engine around ready to hook up. 

The expert will line up to the separator for the first 
time, while the other fellow will back and turn around 
for half an hour, and then not have a good job. 

Now, do n't make the fatal mistake of thinking that 
the fellow is an expert who jumps up on his engine and 
jerks the throttle open and yanks it around backward and 
forward, reversing with a snap, and makes it stand up on 
its hind wheels. 

If you want to be an expert, you must begin with 
the throttle ; therein lies the secret of the real expert. 
He feels the power of his engine through the throttle. 
He opens it just enough to do what he wants it to do. He 
therefore has complete control of his engine. The fellow 
who backs his engine up to the separator with an open 



Handling a Traction Engine, 121 

throttle and must reverse it to keep from running into 
and breaking something, is running his engine on his 
muscle and is entitled to small pay. 

The expert brings his engine back under full control, 
and stops it exactly where he wants it. He handles his 
engine with his head and should be paid accordingly. He 
never makes a false move, loses no time, breaks nothing, 
makes no unnecessary noise, does n't get the water all 
stirred up in the boiler, hooks up, and moves out in the 
same quiet manner, and the onlookers think he could pull 
two such loads, and say he has a great engine ; while the 
engineer of muscle would back up and jerk his engine 
around a half dozen times before he could make the 
coupling, then with a jerk and a snort he yanks the sepa- 
rator out of the holes, and the onlookers think he has 
about all he can pull. 

Now, these are facts, and they can not be put too 
strongly, and if you are going to depend on your muscle 
to run your engine, do n't ask any more money than you 
would get at any other day labor. 

You are not expected to become an expert all at once. 
Three things are essential to be able to handle a traction 
engine as it should be handled. 

First, a thorough knowledge of the throttle. I do n't 
mean that you should simply know how to pull it open 
and shut it. Any boy can do that. But I mean that you 



122 The Traction Engine. 

should be a good judge of the amount of power it will 
require to do what you may wish to do, and then give it 
the amount of throttle that it will require and no more. 
To illustrate this I will give you an instance. 

An expert was called a long distance to see an engine 
that the operator said would not pull its load over the 
hills he had to travel. 

The first pull he had to make was up the worst hill he 
had. When he approached the grade he threw off the 
governor belt, opened the throttle as wide as he could get 
it, and made a run for the hill. The result was that he 
lifted the water and choked the engine down before he 
was half way up." He stepped off with the remark, 
" That is the way the thing does." The expert then 
locked the hind wheels of the separator with a timber, and, 
without raising the pressure a pound, pulled it over the 
hill. He gave it just throttle enough to pull the load, 
and made no effort to hurry it, and still had power to 
spare. 

A locomotive engineer makes a run for a hill in order 
that the momentum of his train may help carry him over. 
It is not so with a traction and its load ; the momentum 
that you get does n't push very hard. 

The engineer who does n't know how to throttle his 
engine never knows what it will do, and therefore has but 
little confidence in it ; while the engineer w T ho has a 



Handling a Traction Engine. 123 

thorough knowledge of the throttle and uses it, always 
has power to spare and has perfect confidence in his 
engine. He knows exactly what he can do and what he 
can not do. 

The second thing for you to know is to get on to the 
tricks of the steer-wheel. This w r ill come to you natu- 
rally, and it is not necessary for me to spend much time on 
it. All new beginners make the mistake of turning the 
wheel too often. Remember this — that every extra turn 
to the right requires two turns to the left, and every extra 
turn to the left requires two more to the right ; especially 
is this the case if your engine is fast on the road. 

The third thing for you to learn is to keep your eyes 
on the front wheels of your engine, and not be looking 
back to see if your load is coming. 

In making a difficult turn, you will find it very much 
to your advantage to go slow, as it gives you much better 
control of your front wheels, and it is not a bad plan for a 
beginner to continue to go slow until he has perfect confi- 
dence in his ability to handle the steer- wheel, as it may 
keep him out of some bad scrapes. 

How about getting into a hole ? Well, you are not 
interested half as much in knowing how to get into a 
hole as you are in knowing how to get out. An engineer 
never shows the stuff he is made of to such good advan- 
tage as when he gets into a hole ; and he is sure to get 



124 The Traction Engine. 

there, for one of the traits of a traction engine is its natu- 
ral ability to find a soft place in the ground. 

Head work will get you out of a bad place quicker 
than all the steam you can get in your boiler. Never 
allow the drivers to turn without doing some good. If 
you are in a hole, and you are able to turn your wheels, 
you are not stuck ; but do n't allow your wheels to slip, 
it only lets you in deeper. If your wheels can't get a 
footing, you want to give them something to hold to. 
Most smart engineers will tell you that the best thing is a 
heavy chain. That is true. So are gold dollars the 
best things to buy bread with, but you have not always 
got the gold dollars ; neither have you always got the 
chain. Old hay or straw is a good thing ; old rails or 
timber of any kind. The engineer with a head spends 
more time trying to get his wheels to hold than he does 
trying to pull out, while the one without a head spends 
more time trying to pull out than he does trying to secure 
a footing ; and the result is that the first fellow generally 
gets out the first attempt, while the other fellow is lucky 
if he gets out the first half-day. 

If you have one wheel perfectly secure, do n't spoil it 
by starting your engine until you have the other just as 
secure. 

If you get into a place where your engine is unable to 
turn its wheels, then you are stuck, and the only thing for 



Handling a Traction Engine. 125 

you to do is to lighten your load or dig out. But under 
all circumstances your engine should be given the benefit 
of your brain. 

All traction engines to be practical must, of neces- 
sity, be reversible. To accomplish this, the link with the 
double eccentric is largely used, although various other 
devices are used with success. As they all accomplish 
the same purpose, it is not necessary for us to discuss the 
merits or demerits of either. 

The main object is to enable the operator to run his 
engine either backward or forward at will ; but the link is 
also a great cause of economy, as it enables the engineer 
to use the steam more or less expansively, as he may use 
more or less power, and especially is this true while the 
engine is on the road, as the power required may vary, 
in going a short distance, anywhere from nothing in 
going down hill, to the full power of your engine in going 
up. 

By using steam expansively we mean the cutting off of 
the steam from the cylinder when the piston has traveled 
a certain part of its stroke. The earlier in the stroke 
this is accomplished, the more benefit you get of the 
expansive force of the steam. 

The reverse on traction engines is usually arranged to 
cut off at i, ^-, or 1^. To illustrate what is meant by 
" cutting off" at ^, i, or |-, we will suppose the engine has 



126 The Traction Engine. 

a twelve-inch stroke. The piston begins its stroke at the 
end of cylinder, and is driven by live steam through an 
open port three inches, or one-quarter of the stroke, when 
the port is closed by the valve shutting the steam from 
the boiler, and the piston is driven the remaining nine 
inches of its stroke by the expansive force of the steam. 
By cutting off at ^ we mean that the piston is driven half 
its stroke, or six inches, by live steam, and by the expan- 
sion of the steam the remaining six inches ; by f we 
mean that live steam is used nine inches before cutting off, 
and expansively the remaining three inches of stroke. 

Here is something for you to remember : " The earlier 
in the stroke you cut off, the greater the economy, but less 
the power ; the later you cut off, the less the economy 
and greater the power." 

Suppose we go into this a little farther. If you are 
carrying 100 pounds pressure and cut off at J, you can 
readily see the economy of fuel and water, for the steam 
is only allowed to enter the cylinder during J of its 
stroke ; but by reason of this, you only get an average 
pressure on the piston head of fifty-nine pounds through- 
out the stroke. But if this is sufficient to do the work, 
why not take advantage of it and thereby save your fuel 
and water ? Now, with the same pressure as before, and 
cutting off at \ , you have an average pressure on 
piston head of eighty-four pounds, a loss of fifty per cent 



Handling a Traction Engine. 127 

in economy and a gain of forty-two per cent, in power. 
Cutting off at f gives you an average pressure of ninety- 
six pounds throughout the stroke. A loss on cutting off 
at \ o'f seventy-five per cent, in economy, and a gain of 
nearly sixty-three per cent, in power, show that the most 
available point at which to work steam expansively is at 
J, as the percentage of increase of power does not equal 
the percentage of loss in economy. The nearer you bring 
the reverse lever to center of quadrant, the earlier will the 
valve cut the steam and less will be the average pressure, 
while the farther away from the center, the later in the 
stroke will the valve cut the steam, and the greater the 
average pressure, and, consequently, the greater the power. 
We have seen engineers drop the reverse back in the last 
notch in order to make a hard pull, and were unable to 
tell why they did so. 

Now, so far as doing the work is concerned, it is not 
absolutely necessary that you know this ; but if you do 
know it, you are more likely to profit by it and thereby 
get the best results out of your engine. And as this is 
our object, we want you to know it, and be benefited by 
the knowledge. Suppose you are on the road with your 
engine and load, and you have a stretch of nice road. 
You are carrying a good head of steam and running with 
lever back in the corner or lower notch. Now, your en- 
gine will travel along its regular speed, and say you run 



128 The Traction Engine. 

a mile this way and fire twice in making it. You now 
ought to be able to turn around and go back on the same 
road with one fire by simply hooking the lever up as short 
as will allow to do the work. Your engine will make 
the same time with half the fuel and water, simply be- 
cause you utilize the expansive force of the steam instead 
of using the live steam from boiler. A great many good 
engines are condemned and said to use too much fuel, and 
all because the engineer takes no pains to utilize the 
steam to the best advantage. 

I have already advised you to carry a " high pres- 
sure" — by a high pressure I mean anywhere from 100 to 
120 pounds. I have done this expecting you to use the 
steam expansively whenever possible, and the expansive 
force of steam increases very rapidly after you have 
reached seventy pounds. Steam at eighty pounds used 
expansively will do nine times the work of steam at twenty- 
five pounds. Note the difference. Pressure, three and one- 
fifth times greater. Work performed, nine times greater. 
I give you these facts trusting that you will take advantage 
of them ; and if your engine at 100 or 110 pounds will 
do your work, cutting off at J, do n't allow it to cut off at 
\, If cutting off at \ will do the work, do n't allow it 
to cut off at |, and the result will be that you will do the 
work with the least possible amount of fuel, and no one will 
have any reason to find fault with you or your engine. 



Handling a Traction Engine. 129 

Now we have given you the three points which are 
absolutely necessary to the successful handling of a trac- 
tion engine. We went through it with you when running 
as a stationary ; then we gave you the pointers to be ob- 
served when running as a traction or road engine. We 
have also given you hints on economy, and if you do not 
already know too much to follow our advice, you can get 
into the field with an engine and have no fears as to the 
results. 

How about bad bridges ? 

Well, a bad bridge is a bad thing, and you can not be 
too careful. When you have questionable bridges to cross 
over, you should provide yourself with good hard-wood 
planks. If you can, have them sawed to order, have them 
three inches in the center and tapering to two inches at 
the ends. You should have two of these about sixteen 
feet long, and two 2x12 planks about eight feet long ; 
the short ones for culverts, and for helping with the 
longer ones in crossing longer bridges. 

An engine should never be allowed to drop from a set 
of planks down on to the floor of bridge. This is why I 
advocate four planks. Do n ? t hesitate to use the plank. 
You had better plank a dozen bridges that do n't need it 
than to attempt to cross one that does need it. You will 
also find it very convenient to carry at least fifty feet of 
good heavy rope. Do n't attempt to pull across a doubt- 
9 



130 The Traction Engine. 

ful bridge with the separator or tank hooked directly to 
the engine. It is dangerous. Here is where you want 
the rope. An engine should be run across a bad bridge 
very slowly and carefully , and not allowed to jerk. In 
extreme cases it is better to run across by hand ; do n't do 
this but once ; get after the road supervisors. 

SAND. 

An engineer wants a sufficient amount of " sand/' but 
he does n't want it in the road. However, you will find it 
there, and it is the meanest road you will have to travel. 
A bad sand road requires considerable sleight of hand on 
the part of the engineer if he wishes to pull much of a 
load through it. You will find it to your advantage to 
keep your engine as straight as possible, as you are not so 
liable to start one wheel to slipping any sooner than the 
other. Never attempt to " wiggle " through a sand bar, 
and do n't try to hurry through ; be satisfied with going 
slow, just as long as you are going. An engine will stand 
a certain speed through sand, and the moment you attempt 
to increase that speed you break its footing, and then 
you are gone. In a case of this kind, a few bundles 
of hay is about the best thing you can use under your 
drivers in order to get started again. But don't lose 
your temper ; it won't help the sand any. 



PART EIGHTH. 
DIFFERENT TRACTION ENGINES. 



In the following pages I will give you a short descrip- 
tion of the more prominent manufacturers' latest designs in 
traction engines. 

THE " ECLIPSE " TRACTION ENGINE. 

In this engine, manufactured by the Frick Co., a sepa- 
rate steel frame has been provided for the support of the 
driving wheels, the front wheels, the engine, etc., and on 
this frame rests also the boiler, supported on sliding 
joints. By this arrangement the boiler is relieved not 
only of all outside strains due to the mounting of the ma- 
chinery directly on the boiler shell, but also of internal 
strains due to the expansion -or contraction of its various 
parts. 

The boiler, of the regular locomotive type, is provided 
with a large fire-box and an ample supply of tubes. The 
crown-sheet is so arranged that it is well under the sur- 
face of the water whether the engine is going up a steep 
grade or going down. 

131 



132 The Traction Engine. 

The smokestack is located in the front, and is pro- 
vided with a cone-shaped screen for spark arrester. A 
cross-head pump and a Penberthy injector are used. 
The water- tanks, one on each side of the boiler, are sup- 
ported directly on the steel frame and located in front of 
the driving-wheel. 

The engine, of the center crank type, is placed on top 
of the boiler. It is independently supported on a steel 
frame spanning the boiler and fire-box and riveted to the 
side of the main frame. The cylinder end rests loosely 
on the shell of the boiler. Cylinder, bed-plate, cross- 
head, and slides are made of cast-iron ; and cross-head 
gibs, crank-shaft bearings, check-valves and connecting- 
rod boxes are gun metal. The gears are all cast-iron. 
Steel is used for the main axle, the countershaft, the 
crank shaft, the piston rod, the pump plunger and the 
valve stems. 

The power is transmitted from the engine to the main 
axle by means of a direct train of gears in which is in- 
cluded a compensating geai;. The compensating gear is 
so arranged that by pulling on a lever the two driving- 
wheels are locked together. It is hardly necessary to 
point out the value of this device when pulling out of a 
bad place. 

The connection between the main gears and the driving- 
wheels is accomplished by means of four spiral steel 







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133 



134 The Traction Engine. 

springs in order to prevent as much as possible any 
sudden blows on gears and shafts. 

In place of the usual locomotive links a special revers- 
ing gear is used. It is of a simple construction and con- 
tains very few parts. 

Most of the wearing parts are encased in dust-free covers, 
and provided with self-oiling devices. The cylinder is 
oiled by a sight-feed lubricator. 

The steering chains operated by the steering wheel and 
a worm gear are attached to the front axle by means of 
spiral steel springs. This way of attaching the chains 
allows the front axle to move a little when a small obstacle 
in the road is encountered, but compels it to resume its 
original position as soon as the obstacle has been passed. 
It also prevents a great deal of vibration. 

The brake is applied directly on the main axle and is 
of the steel band type. The fly-wheel is provided with a 
friction clutch and the location is such that the belt can 
be run to the front as well as to the rear of the machine. 
The engineer's platform is mounted on springs. Steering 
wheel brake, reversing gear, throttle valve, whistle, pump. 
injector, blower, water-gauge, friction clutch, dampers, etc., 
can all be reached from this place. 

The traction wheels' spokes are made of rolled steel and 
riveted to the rim. Holes are provided in the rim for inser- 
tion of special spurs in order to prevent slipping on frozen 



Different Traction Engines, 135 

roads, or can be used for the attachment of special large mud 
cleats in case such should be wanted. 

THE AULTMAX CO.'s TRACTION ENGINE. 

This engine has, like the previous one, the boiler and 
all the machinery supported on an independent steel frame 
built up of structural steel consisting mostly of I beams 
riveted together. As shown in the cuts, see Figs. 26 and 27, 
the engines have been placed directly on this frame in front 
of the fire-box and underneath the boiler. This construc- 
tion not only relieves the boiler of all external strains, but 
also brings the center of gravity of the whole machine closer 
to the road ; that is, makes it less top-heavy, which is a very 
good feature for any traction engine. 

The front end of the frame is connected with the fifth 
wheel or "saddle" by means of arched girders or "goose 
necks," allowing the front wheels to turn completely around 
if wanted and also giving to the whole frame a certain 
amount of elasticity which is very desirable. 

In order to reduce the work of steering the front axle 
"saddle" has been furnished with ball bearings. 

The placing of the front wheels ahead of the boiler has 
necessarily produced a somewhat longer wheel base than 
if the boiler itself had been used for the support of the 
front axle, but the great angle through which the front 
wheels can be turned more than balances this disadvantage. 




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Fig. 27.— Front View— without Boiler— of the Aultmax 
Traction Engine, 



138 The Traction Engine. 

The boiler is of the locomotive type with the smoke- 
stack in front when coal or wood is to be used for fuel. 
The return tubular type with the smokestack in the rear 
is furnished when the fuel is to be straw. The fire-box 
is completely surrounded by water, and has the fire and 
the ash door set in a removable cast-iron frame. Prac- 
tically the same fittings aie furnished as in the case of 
the Eclipse Traction Engine. 

Two independent engines with cranks at quarters and 
four bearings are used. I will say here that the advan- 
tage of using two engines with cranks at quarters on a 
traction engine over the single crank engine is quite 
marked. The locomotive engineers have a long time ago 
recognized this, and today nearly every locomotive is 
therefore furnished with two engines. To illustrate this 
the following two diagrams have been prepared. Refer- 
ing to Fig. 28, which represents a diagram of a single crank 
engine during a quarter of a revolution of its fly-wheel, 
the letters A, B, C, D, and E represent positions of the 
crank. The figures placed opposite those letters represent 
the pressure of the crank-rod on the main shaft in these 
various positions. Supposing that the amount of pressure 
exerted in the position A is 100 as per diagram, then the 
pressure is zero when the crank is in position E or passing 
through the dead center. At the position B the pressure 
is then 75, at C 50, etc. Suppose, now, that instead of 



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139 



140 The Traction Engine. 

the single crank engine we substitute two engines with 
cranks at quarters having together the same amount of 
power as the previous single engine. Referring to Fig. 
29, representing a diagram of two single crank engines with 
cranks at quarters during a quarter of a revolution, and 
allowing the letters A and A', B and B', etc., to represent 
the positions of the cranks at the same instant, then the fig- 
ures set opposite those letters will also represent the pres- 
sures on the main shaft in those various positions at that 
instant. 

As we supposed above that the total amount of power 
to be furnished by these two engines should be equal 
to the amount of power furnished by the single engine, 
it follows that each individual engine needs only to furnish 
one-half the power. By looking at the diagram we find, 
therefore, that the power exerted in the position A is in 
this case only 50, at B 37 J, at D 12J, and at E zero for 
the one engine. The figures for the other engine at the 
same positions commencing with A' (where it is zero) is 
at B' 12J, at D' 37J, and at E' 50. As the two cranks 
are connected together, the total amount of pressure on the 
main shaft is, therefore, represented by adding together the 
amount of pressure which each engine exerts in correspond- 
ing positions. Doing this we find, as the diagram shows, 
that the total amount of pressure will be 50 in all those 
positions. If we now go back to the first diagram repre- 



Different Traction Engines. 141 

senting the single crank engine, we find that in the posi- 
tion A the power exerted was 100, whereas in this case we 
have only 50 for the double engine. At the position B 
the single crank engine exerts a pressure of 75, whereas 
the double crank engine only shows 50. At the position 
C both engines show the same amount of pressure, or 50. 
At position D the single crank engine has dropped to 25, 
but the double crank engine still remains 50. At position 
E the single crank engine exerts zero pow T er, whereas the 
double crank engine still shows 50. A careful study of 
the above shows that, though the total amount of power 
developed by these tw r o classes of engines is nearly the same, 
the distribution of this power during the quarter of a revo- 
lution is very materially different. The double engine ex- 
erts nearly a uniform amount of power during this period, 
whereas in the single engine the power varies from a max- 
imum of nearly twice the amount of the double engine to 
a minimum of zero. This lack of uniformity as well as 
the absolute dead center have to be taken care of in the 
single crank engine by the fly-wheel. The double crank 
engine can, therefore, theoretically do without the fly-w T heel. 
From the above we can see why the double engine with 
cranks at quarters is preferable for traction purposes. 

The crank-shaft in this engine is of the built-up type, 
allowing the use of large bearings. The valves are bal- 
anced and the standard " locomotive link" reversing gear 
is used. 



142 The Traction Engine. 

Due to the position of the engines, all their parts are well 
protected, easy to inspect, oil, and clean. 

The height of the driving pulley on the engine shaft is 
convenient for handling the main belt directly from the 
ground without climbing, and its position is such that 
there is no inteference between the belt and any part of 
the traction engine. 

The power is transmitted from the engine shaft to the 
traction wheels in a straight line through a train of spur 
gears, and the engine is provided with a set of double 
speed gears. The differential or compensating gear is 
placed inside the traction wheel. The manufacturer of 
this engine uses cast-steel fore gears and pinions. The 
traction wheels are of the built-up type with rolled steel 
rims and forged steel spokes and the mud cleats are of 
malleable cast-iron riveted to the rims. 

THE NEW GIANT EXGINE. 

This traction engine, which is built by the North AYest 
Thresher Co., has all its machinery mounted directly on 
the boiler shell. As usual with such a mounting, this 
engine has a very short wheel base and can therefore make 
very short turns. The boiler is of the return tubular flue 
type, with a fire-box inside the large flue. Fig. 30 
shows a longitudinal sectional view of the boiler, and the 
end view shows the location of the return flues. The 



144 The Traction Engine. 

Shelby seamless tubes are used for the return flues, which 
are all located under the water-line. 

The smokestack is located in the rear over the fire- 
door, and has the upper part hinged in order to allow the 
engine to pass under low bridges. A half spherical 
spark arrester is generally attached. 

This company furnishes a Penberthy injector and a 
Clark independent steam-pump with their engines. 

The exhaust is arranged in such a manner that it can 
either be directed through the feed-water heater or turned 
into the stack, or it may even be divided between the two 
so that both can be used at the same time. The exhaust 
nozzle is fixed and draught is regulated by directing more 
or less of the exhaust steam into the heater. Two safety- 
valves are generally used, which are set for two different 
pressures; that is, one of the safety-valves blows off be- 
fore the other. 

The water-tank is placed on top of the boiler over the 
front wheels, and is furnished with a steam syphon. 

The engine, either simple or compound, is of the side 
crank type with cylinders, piston-head, cross-head, crank- 
disc, gearings, etc., of cast-iron. The connecting rod, 
shafts, and crank-pin are made of steel. 

The Woolf valve gear, Gardner spring governor, sight- 
feed cylinder lubricator, and solid oil-cups are used. 

The fly-wheel is provided with a friction clutch. All 








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146 The Traction Engine. 

levers and handles as well as pump and injector can be 
operated from the engineer's platform. 

The transmission of power from the engine shaft to the 
traction wheels is accomplished by a train of spur gears. 
In this train of gears is also introduced the compensating 
gear, which is provided with bevel steel pinions enclosed 
in a shell. On the outside of this shell acts a solid steel 
band as brake. 

The traction wheels are of large diameter w T ith broad 
rolled-steel tires. All spokes and braces are also made of 
steel. The steering chains as well as the draw- bar have 
strong spiral steel springs introduced between the points 
of attachment and themselves. Steel springs are also sup- 
porting the rear axles. 

THE REEVES TRACTIOX ENGINE. 

This engine, like the previous one, has all the machinery 
mounted on the boiler shell. The rear axle as well as the 
countershaft is supported on the rear of the boiler, and this 
results in a somewhat longer w T heel-base than what is gen- 
erally found in traction engines of this type. 

The boiler is of the locomotive type of "water bottom" 
pattern ; that is, the fire-box is surrounded by water on all 
sides. AYhen engines have to be furnished for the use of 
straw or oil, as fuel, special arrangements of the fire-box are 
used. The most notable feature is the introduction in the 



148 The Traction Engine. 

fire-box of a fire-brick arch made in sections and provided 
with a socket-joint, which permits the expansion and con- 
traction of the arch without injury. This arch protects 
the crown-sheet as well as the front end of the tubes from 
the direct flame. 

This company's traction engines are generally furnished 
with special rocking grates very similar in construction to 
the rocking grates used in some of the larger house furnaces 
and just as easy to handle. The controller lever is operated 
from the engineer's platform. The smokestack is located 
in front, and immediately behind it is placed the steam dome. 
This is made somewhat higher than what is generally found 
to be the practice in order to insure dry steam. 

Both an injector and an independent steam pump are 
furnished as well as an exhaust heater. 

A cylindrical water-tank is placed alongside of the fire- 
box and permanently piped both to injector and pump. 

The engine is of the double-cylinder center-crank 
type with cranks at right angles. This results, as previ- 
ously explained, in a machine with no dead centers. 
Each engine is complete and separate from the other, 
being only connected together by the crank-shaft. For 
each engine is provided an independent steam-chest, 
steam-valve, piston-head, cross-head, connecting-rod, etc. 
Only one governor of the horizontal type, one throttle- 
valve, and one steam-pipe is used for both engines. The 



Different Traction Engines. 149 

steam-pipe branches to each engine below the throttle- 
valve. The cylinder, the frame, and the main bearing 
are all contained in one solid casting for each engine, and 
both engines are securely fastened to the same boiler 
saddle. 

The crank-shaft is made of a steel forging in one piece 
and machined to size. The cross-head is provided with 
adjustable shoes. A reversing gear as well as an expan- 
sion controlling gear of special construction operated by a 
lever in the cab is used. 

All fittings, such as sight-feed lubricator, steam gauge, 
water-glass, etc., are made of brass. 

The main pulley is located on the crank-shaft and on 
the same side as the steering-wheel. The driving-wheels 
are connected by a train of spur-gears to the engine shaft. 
They are cast solid and provided with steel spokes cast 
into the hub and rims. The surface and the mud cleats 
have been chilled. The axle turns with the driving-wheels, 
and a compensating gear is introduced between it and the 
engine shaft. 

If an engine of very high economy in regard to fuel is 
wanted, these engines are arranged to be cross-compounded. 
In this case a special valve-gear is furnished, which allow r s 
the engine to be used as a single engine with double cylin- 
ders but of larger power. When the cross-compound en- 
gine is used in the latter way, the economy is, of course, 





150 



Different Traction Kit (fines. 151 

no greater than that of a single engine. Fig. 34 shows a 
cut of this valve gear. 

THE COLEAN TRACTION ENGINE. 

This is another engine of the same type as the two pre- 
vious ones just described, having all its machinery mounted 
directly on the boiler shell. It has the same advantage as 
most engines of this class have ; that is, its wheel base is 
very short. 

The boiler, of the locomotive type, is built of steel with 
double-riveted seams, and has water-jacketed fire-box and 
rocking grates. The latter are controlled from the en- 
gineer's platform by means of a lever. 

The smokestack is in front and the steam dome has a 
relatively large steam space. The usual fittings are supplied. 
The engines, of the Corliss self-contained type w^ith double 
cylinder and crank at quarters, are mounted side by side 
on the top of the boiler. The steam-chest and the cylinder 
are cast in one piece. The crank-shaft is made of a solid 
steel-forging machined to proper dimensions. The loco- 
motive reversing links, horizontal governor, sight-feed 
lubricator, etc., are all standard. The fly-wheel or pulley 
is provided with a friction clutch so arranged that it can 
be converted into a solid pulley by the shifting of a pin 
and the tightening of a set screw, which operation practic- 
ally makes a solid connection between the traction pinion, 
the fly-wheel, and the engine shaft. 




3 



55 

.O 

H 
Q 

as 



o 
H 



6 



152 



Different Traction Engines. 153 

The water-tank is placed in front on top of the boiler 
and surrounds the smokestack. The driving-wheels have 
steel rims and spokes and are connected to the engine 
through spur-gearing. In this train of gears is inserted 
the compensating gear, which has bevel steel pinions. 

BUFFALO PITTS CO. TRACTION ENGINE. 

This company mounts also the machinery directly on the 
boiler shell and secures, therefore, the advantage of a short 
wheel base. 

The boiler is of the locomotive type, with Shelby's cold 
drawn seamless tubes aud full water bottom. On the 
water bottom the fire is dumped instead of dumping it 
directly on the ground, thereby preventing the starting of 
fiers. The boiler can be arranged for burning either coal, 
wood, or straw. When only straw is to be used for fuel, the 
return tubular flue type of boiler is generally used. What- 
ever the type of boiler may be, a fire-brick arch is put in 
the fire-box as w r ell as special straw-burning grate bars. 

All longitudinal seams are double-riveted. The steam 
space has been made relatively large and so has the dome 
in order to secure as dry steam as possible. 

Both a pump and an injector are furnished, and have 
been so arranged that either can be used for filling the 
tank as well as taking water for the boiler from the tank 

The tank, holding about 100 gallons of water is of steel 
and located on the front of the boiler. 




o 

'A 



O 






O 
<! 



D 

P 



Fig. 37.— Engine Plan. 




Fig. 38.— End View. 



156 The Traction Engine. 

Two independent engines of the center-crank self-con- 
tained type are mounted side by side. Each has its own 
steam-chesty piston-rod, cross-head, connecting-rod, etc. 
Figs. 37 and 38 give you a view of the engine. The cylin- 
ders are fastened together on the inside of the frame and 
have the steam-chests located on the outside. The cylin- 
ders and the guides, cast in one piece, are bored ont together 
and therefore always in line. Due to the construction the 
moving parts of the engine are always well protected, and 
can be very easily inspected, oiled, and cleaned. The gov- 
ernor is of the vertical type, and is driven by a small belt 
from a little counter-shaft located on the front part of the 
guides. (See Fig. 36.) It is mounted on the pipe flange 
just before the steam-pipe branches to the cylinders. 

The locomotive reversing links are used. The crank- 
shaft is made of a steel forging with cranks at quarters and 
is provided with self-oiling attachments. A train of spur- 
gears transmits the power from the engine to the driving- 
wheels. In this train is introduced the compensating gear 
containing three bevel pinions. The maker claims that 
this number is preferable, as it prevents the rocking motion 
and therefore reduces the w-ear. 

The traction wheels are of the built-up type with broad 
rolled steel rims and flat steel spokes riveted to the rim 
and the hub. Large mud-cleats are also riveted on the out- 
side of the rim of the wheels. The fly-wheel has been pro- 
vided with a friction clutch. 




157 



158 



The Traction Engine. 



THE HUBER TRACTION ENGINE. 

This engine belongs to the same class as the previous ones 
which are using their boilers as frames for supporting the 
machinery. The wheel base is for this reason very short. 
This company uses the return tubular type of boiler with 
the fire-box inside the large central tube and with the smoke- 
stack in the rear. It has a special superheating device (see 




Fig. 40. — The "Huber" Boiler. 



Fig. 40) consisting of a double tube, the outer one reach- 
ing from the steam dome down into the large fire-tube, 
and the inner one, constituting the steam delivery pipe, 
starting near the bottom of the outer one, carries the super- 
heated steam through the dome to the engine. The com- 
bustion chamber in the front is provided with a hinged 



Different Traction Engines. 



159 



door on which the water-tank is mounted. By swinging 
back this door all the tubes are exposed and can be easily 
cleaned and inspected. 

• The smokestack is constructed of several layers of sheet- 
iron with air-spaces between, which construction leaves the 
outside surface of the stack relatively cool. 

A variable exhaust is secured by having the exhaust 
nozzle divided by a central partition in two compartments 




Fig. 41. — The Sprixg Draw Bar. 

and regulating the amount of steam blowing through one 
of them by a valve. 

A cross-head pump, a syphon (see Fig. 16), and an in- 
jector take care of the water-supply. 

The engine is of the side-crank single-cylinder type, with 
cylinder, guide, and crank-shaft bearings all in one casting. 
It has a belt-driven horizontal governor and the Huber 
reversing gear. The connection between the crank-shaft 



160 



The Traction Engine. 



and the driving-wheel consists of a train of spur-gears. In 
this train of gears is also included a compensating gear which 




Fig. 42. — Spring Mounting. 




Fig. 43. — Section of Hub. 



is constructed with spur-gears for pinions. This compensat- 
ing gear is enclosed in a casing and covered by a steel plate, 



Different Traction Engines. 161 

making it perfectly dust-free. Between the last gear and 
the driving-wheels four spiral springs are introduced. 
Springs are also used between the drivers and the axle (see 
Fig. 43), between the front axle and the boiler (see Fig. 
42), and between the draw-bar and the engine (see Fig. 

41)- 

The driving-wheels are of the built-up type with flat drop 

forged-steel spokes and rolled steel rims. The axle is square, 

does not revolve, and passes under the boiler from one wheel 

to the other. 

THE PORT HURON TRACTION ENGINE. 

This engine is built by the Port Huron Engine and 
Thresher Co., and belongs to the same class as the one just 
described ; that is, it has all its machinery mounted on the 
boiler and also a short wheel base. 

The boiler belongs to the locomotive type with smoke- 
stack in front. The fire-box has a circular bottom and is 
water-jacketed all around. The waist seam, connecting 
the fire-box to the boiler, is double riveted and the tubes 
are lap welded with a copper ferrule for tightener between the 
tubes and the tube sheet. The furnace door and its frame 
are of cast-iron and bolted to the fire-box, allowing it to be 
removed for repair. The smoke-box is relatively long. 

A cross-head pump with condensing heater and an in- 
jector furnish the boiler with water. 
11 




63 

g 

3 

O 



En 

O 






162 



Different Traction Engines. 163 

The engine is of the side crank type with a girder-like 
frame and bored guides. Instead of the usual slide valve 
of the J) type this company makes use of four independent 
valves of the poppet type, resulting in a square cut-off very 
similar to the cut-off of the Corliss engine. The valve (see 
Fig. 45) consists of a hollow cylindrical body with circular 
discs on each end fitting the valve seats. The disc on the 
boiler side is of a little larger area than the one on the cyl- 
inder side, thus keeping the valve seated by the excess of 
steam pressure due to this difference in area and assisted by 
a light spring. The valves are operated by cams on a cyl- 
indrical rotating shaft deriving its motion from the crank- 
shaft by means of bevel gears. (See Fig. 46.) This shaft 
opens and closes the valves at the right time by the cams 
operating on the stems of the valve. The reversing as well 
as the regulating of the engine is accomplished by shifting 
this shaft along its own axle by means of a lever in the 
cab. 

A key-way in the bevel gears and a key in the shaft 
keeps them always in the right position relatively to each 
other. This valve gear allows the valves to be kept wide 
open as long as wanted and then cuts off very quickly, pre- 
venting all wire drawing of the steam. 

A train of spur-gears connects the crank-shaft with the 
driver. Each driving-wheel axle is supported on a bracket 
fastened on the side of the fire-box. The bracket is con- 




Fig. 45. 



Fig. 47. 




Different Traction Engines. 165 

nected with the bracket on the opposite side of the fire-box 
by a tie rod under the bottom (see Fig. 47). The driving- 
wheels are solid, no springs being interposed between them 
and the boiler. The same is the case with the front wheels. 
In fact, absence of springs is a notable feature about this 
engine. 



PART NINTH. 
SOME THINGS TO KNOW. 



Q. How do you find the circumference of a circle ? 

A. Multiply the diameter by 3 or, more correctly, 
by3f 

Q. How do you find the diameter of a circle when you 
know the circumference ? 

A. Multiply by 318 and divide by 1000. 

Q. How do you find the area of a circle ? 

A. Multiply the diameter by itself and multiply the 
result by 785 and divide by 1000. 

Q. What is the weight of a gallon of water ? 

A. Eight and one-third pounds. 

Q. How many gallons are contained in one cubic foot 
of water ? 

A. Seven and one-half gallons. 

166 



Some Things to Know. 167 

Q. What is combustion? 

A. A chemical combination of oxygen and carbon. 

Q. What is fire? 

A. Fire is the rapid combustion or consuming of 
organic matter. 

Q. What is water ? 

A. Water is a compound of oxygen and hydrogen. In 
weight, 88^ parts oxygen to H-j^ hydrogen. It has its 
maximum density at 39 degrees Fahr., changes to steam 
at 212 degrees, and to ice at 32 degrees. 

Q. What is smoke ? 

A. It is unconsumed carbon, finely divided, escaping 
into open air. 

Q. Is excessive smoke a waste of fuel ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. How will you prevent it ? 

A. Keep a thin fire, and admit cold air sufficient to 
insure perfect combustion. 

Q. What is low water as applied to a boiler ? 

A. It is when the water is insufficient to cover all parts 
exposed to the flames. 

Q. What is the first thing to do on discovering that you 
have low water ? 

A. Pull out the fire. 

Q. Would it be safe to open the safety-valve at such 
time? 



168 The Traction Engine. 

A. No. 

Q. Why not ? 

A. It would relieve the pressure on the water and a 
large portion of the super-heated water would flash into 
steam and cause an explosion. 

Q. Why do boilers sometimes explode just on the point 
of starting the engine ? 

A. Because starting the engine has the same effect as 
opening the safety-valve. 

Q. Are there any circumstances under which an engi- 
neer is justified in allowing the water to get low ? 

A. No. 

Q. Why do they sometimes do it ? 

A. From carelessness or ignorance. 

Q. May not an engineer be deceived in the gauge of 
water ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Is he to be blamed under such circumstances ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Why? 

A. Because if he is deceived by it, it shows he has 
neglected something. 

Q. What is meant by " priming " ? 

A. It is the passing of water in visible quantities into 
the cylinder with the steam. 

Q. What would you consider the first duty of an 



Some Things to Know. 169 

engineer on discovering that the water was foaming or 
priming ? 

A. Open the cylinder cocks at once, and throttle the 
steam. 

Q. Why would you do this ? 

A. Open the cocks to enable the water to escape, and 
throttle the steam so that the water would settle. 

Q. Is foaming the same as priming ? 

A. Yes and no. 

Q. How do you make that out ? 

A. A boiler may foam without priming, but it can't 
prime without first foaming. 

Q. AVhere w r ill you first discover that the water is 
foaming ? 

A. It will appear in the glass gauge, the glass will 
have a milky appearance, and the water will seem to be 
running down from the top. There will be a snapping or 
cracking in the cylinder as quick as priming begins. 

Q. What causes a boiler to foam ? 

A. There are a number of causes. It may come from 
faulty construction of boiler ; it may have insufficient 
steam room. It may be, and usually is, from the use of 
bad water, muddy or stagnant water, or water containing 
any soapy substance. 

Q. What would you do after being bothered in this 
way? 



170 The Traction Engine. 

A. Clean out the boiler and get better water if pos- 
sible. 

Q. How would you manage your pumps while the 
water was foaming ? 

A. Keep them running full. 

Q. Why? 

A. In order to make up for the extra amount of water 
going out with the steam. 

Q. What is " cushion ?" 

A. A cushion is steam retained or admitted in front of 
the piston head at the finish of stroke, or when the engine 
is on " center." 

Q. What is it for ? 

A. It helps to overcome the " inertia " and momentum 
of the reciprocating parts of the engine, and enables the 
engine to pass the center without a jar. 

Q. How would you increase the cushion in an engine ? 

A. By increasing the lead. 

Q. What is lead ? 

A. It is the amount of opening the port shows on 
steam end of cylinder when the engine is on dead center. 

Q. Is there any rule for giving an engine the proper 
lead ? 

A. No. 

Q. Why not ? 

A. Owing to their variation in construction, speed, etc. 



Some Things to Know. 171 

Q. What would you consider the proper amount of 
lead, generally ? 

A. From ^ to -J^. 

Q. What is "lap?" 

A. It is the distance the valve overlaps the steam ports 
when in mid position. 

Q. What is lap for? 

A. In order that the steam may be worked expansively. 

Q. When does expansion occur in a cylinder ? 

A. During the time between which the port closes and 
the point at which the exhaust opens. 

Q. What would be the effect on an engine if the 
exhaust opened too soon ? 

A. It would greatly lessen the power of the engine. 

Q. What effect would too much lead have ? 

A. It would also weaken the engine, as the steam 
would enter before the piston had reached the end of the 
stroke, and would tend to prevent its passing the center. 

Q. What is the stroke of an engine ? 

A. It is the distance the piston travels in the cylinder. 

Q. How do you find the speed of a piston a minute ? 

A. Double the stroke, and multiply it by the number 
of revolutions a minute. Thus, an engine with a twelve- 
inch stroke would travel twenty-four inches, or two feet, at 
a revolution. If it made 200 revolutions a minute, the 
travel of piston would be 400 feet a minute. 



172 The Traction Engine, 

Q. What is considered a horse-power as applied to an 
engine ? 

A. It is a power sufficient to lift 33,000 pounds one 
foot high in one minute. 

Q. What is the indicated horse-power of an engine ? 

A. It is the actual work done by the steam in the cylin- 
der as shown by an indicator. 

Q. What is the actual horse-power ? 

A. It is the power actually given off by the driving 
belt or pulley. 

Q. How would you find the horse-power of an engine ? 

A. Multiply the area of the piston by the average pres- 
sure less five ; multiply this product by the number of 
feet the piston travels in a minute ; divide the product by 
33,000 ; the result will be the horse-power of the engine. 

Q. How will you find the area of piston ? 

A. Square the diameter of piston, and multiply it by 
.7854. 

Q. What do you mean by squaring the diameter ? 

A. Multiplying it by itself. If a cylinder is six inches 
in diameter, 36 multiplied by .7854 gives the area in 
square inches. 

Q. What do you mean by average pressure ? 

A. If the pressure on boiler is sixty pounds, and the 
engine is cutting oif at \ stroke, the average pressure for 
the full stroke would be fifty pounds. 



Some Things to Know. 173 

Q. Why do you say "less five pounds"? 

A. To allow for friction and condensation. 

Q. What is the power of a 7 x 10 engine, running 200 
revolutions, cutting off at \ stroke, with 60 pounds steam ? 

A. 7 x 7 = 49 x .7854 = 38.48. The average pres- 
sure of 60 pounds would be 50 pounds less 5 = 45 
pounds ; 38.48 x 45 = 1731.80 x .333J (the number of 
feet the piston travels a minute) = 577,269.00 -— by 
33,000 = 17 J horse-power. 

Q. What is a high-pressure engine ? 

A. It is an engine using steam at a high pressure and 
exhausting into the open air. 

Q. What is a low-pressure engine ? 

A. It is one using steam at a low pressure and ex- 
hausting into a condenser, producing a vacuum, the piston 
being under steam pressure on one side and vacuum on 
the other. 

Q. What class of engines are farm engines ? 

A. They are high-pressure. 

Q. Why? 

A. They are less complicated and less expensive. 

Q. What is the most economical pressure to carry on a 
high-pressure engine? 

A. From 90 to 110 pounds. 

Q. Why is high pressure more economical than low 
pressure ? 



174 The Traction Engine. 

A. Because the loss is greater in low pressure owing to 
the atmospheric pressure. With forty-five pounds steam 
the pressure from the atmosphere is fifteen pounds, or J, 
leaving only thirty pounds of effective power ; while with 
ninety pounds the atmospheric pressure is only \ of the 
boiler pressure. 

Q. Does it require any more fuel to do the work if we 
carry 100 pounds than it does to carry sixty pounds? 

A. It does not require quite so much. 

Q. If that is the case, why not increase the pressure 
beyond this and save more fuel ? 

A. Because we would soon pass the point of safety in 
a boiler, and the result would be the loss of life and prop- 
erty. 

Q. What do you consider a safe working pressure on a 
boiler ? 

A. That depends entirely on its diameter. While a 
boiler of thirty inches in diameter, § inch iron, would 
carry 140 pounds, a boiler of the same thickness eighty 
inches in diameter would have a safe working pressure of 
only fifty pounds, which shows that the safe working 
pressure decreases very rapidly as we increase the diam- 
eter of boiler. This is the safe working pressure for sin- 
gle-riveted boilers of this diameter. To find the safe 
working pressure of a double-riveted boiler of same diam- 
eter, multiply the safe pressure of the single-riveted by 



Some Things to Know. 175 

seventy, and divide by fifty-six ; it will give the safe pres- 
sure of a double-riveted boiler. 

Q. Why is a steel boiler superior to an iron boiler ? 

A. Because it is much lighter and stronger. 

Q. Does boiler plate become stronger or weaker as it 
becomes heated ? 

A. It becomes tougher or stronger as it is heated, until 
it reaches a temperature of 550 degrees, when it rapidly 
decreases its power of resistance as it is heated beyond 
this temperature. 

Q. How do you account for this ? 

A. Because after you pass the maximum temperature 
of 550 degrees, the more you raise the temperature, the 
nearer you approach its fusing-point when its tenacity, or 
resisting power, is nothing. 

Q. What is the degree of heat necessary to fuse iron ? 

A. Nearly 4000 degrees. 

Q. What class of boilers are generally used in a 
threshing engine? 

A. The flue boiler and the tubular boiler. 

Q. About what amount of heating and grate surface is 
required per horse-power in a flue boiler ? 

A. About fifteen square feet of heating surface and f 
of a square foot of grate surface. 

Q. What would you consider a fair evaporation in a 
flue boiler ? 



176 The Traction Engine. 

A. Six pounds of water to one pound of coal. 

Q. How do these dimensions compare in a tubular 
boiler ? 

A. A tubular boiler will require J less grate surface, 
and will evaporate about eight pounds of water to one 
pound of coal. 

Q. Which do you consider the most available ? 

A. The tubular boiler. 

Q. Why ? 

A. It is more economical and is less liable to " col- 
lapse." 

Q. What do you mean by " collapse " ? 

A. It is a crushing in of a flue by external pressure. 

Q. Is a tube of large diameter more liable to collapse 
than one of smaller diameter ? 

A. Yes. 

Q. Why? 

A. Because its power of resistance is much less than 
that of a tube of small diameter. 

Q. Is the pressure on the shell of a boiler the same as 
on the tubes ? 

A. No. 

Q. What is the difference ? 

A. The shell of boiler has a tearing or internal pres- 
sure, while the tubes have a crushing or external pressure. 

Q. What causes an explosion ? 



Some Things to Know. 177 

A. An explosion occurs generally from low water, 
allowing the iron to become overheated and thereby weak- 
ened and unable to withstand the pressure. 

Q. What is a " burst?" 

A. It is that which occurs when, through any defect, the 
water and steam are allowed to escape freely without fur- 
ther injury to boiler. 

Q. What is the best way to prevent an explosion or 
burst ? 

A. (1) Never go beyond a safe working pressure. (2) 
Keep the boiler clean and in good repair. (3) Keep the 
safety-valves in good shape and the water at its proper 
height. 

Q. What is the first thing to do on going to your en- 
gine in the morning ? 

A. See that the water is at its proper level. 

Q. AVhat is the proper level? 

A. Up to the second gauge. 

Q. When should you test or try the pop-valve ? 

A. As soon as there are a few pounds of steam. 

Q. How would you start your engine after it had been 
standing over night ? 

A. Slowly. 

Q. Why? 

A. In order to allow the cylinder to become hot, and 



12 



] 78 The Traction Engine. 

that the water or condensed steam may escape without 
injury to the cylinder. 

Q. What is the last thing to do at night ? 

A. See that there is plenty water in boiler, and, if the 
weather is cold, drain all pipes. 

Q. With a new engine and boiler, what will you do to 
start it ? 

A. (1) Examine all parts and oil all bearings. Turn 
the engine by hand to see that it moves freely. (2) Fill 
the boiler up to the second gauge cock by means of the 
force-pump. (3) Start the fire slowly, and when steam- 
gauge shows five pounds, turn on the blower to increase 
the burning. (4) Open cylinder cocks. (5) Open throt- 
tle-valve gradually and let the engine turn over. If every- 
thing appears to go all right, open the throttle in full. (6) 
When only steam comes out the cylinder cocks, close them. 
(7) Examine bearings. (8) Start pump or injector to 
feeding just fast enough to supply water as fast as it goes 
out of the boiler into the engine. 

Q. What would you do in cold weather if you thought 
that your pumps, boiler connections, or water-pipes were 
liable to be frozen ? 

A. I would open all drip- and discharge-cocks, and allow 
all the water to run out of them when I stop work at night. 
In the morning I would examine all the steam- and w T ater- 
connections before starting the fire. 



Some Things to Know. 179 

Q. What would you do if you must stop your engine 
when the steam is blowing off at the safety-valve ? 

A. I would immediately start the pump or injector and 
cover the fire with fresh coal. 

Q. What is the use of a fusible plug ? . 

A. It is intended for a safety device, in case the water 
gets too low in the boiler. 

Q. How does the fusible plug act ? 

A. When the water in the boiler gets so low as to uncover 
the plug, the fire in the fire-box will melt it and the steam 
which will flow through the opening into the fire-box will 
extinguish the fire. 

Q. Where is the fusible plug generally placed in a 
boiler? 

A. In the crown-sheet. 

Q. How is the fusible plug made? 

A. It is made of a short piece of brass tubing threaded 
on the outside and having a hexagonal head on one end. 
This tube is then filled with a metal compound melting at 
a relatively low temperature. 



PART TENTH. 
INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES. 



GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 

" Internal combustion engines " is the general name for 
the Gas Engine, the Gasoline Engine, the Oil Engine, the 
Alcohol Engine and others. As you can understand from 
the name, they use either gas, gasoline, coal oil or alcohol 
for fuel. 

Why are they called internal combustion engines? 
Well, the reason is that they burn their fuel inside their 
cylinders. We have seen, in the first pages of this book, 
that the steam engine has to be supplied with steam, that 
the steam has to be generated from water, and that we 
have to burn fuel under or inside the boiler to make the 
steam. We say that all engines which use fuel in this 
way belong to the steam engine class. In a similar 
manner we say that all machines burning their fuel direct 
in their cylinders belong to the " internal combustion 
engine" class. 

180 



Internal Combustion Engines. 181 

Now, it is easy to see that different principles must be 
considered when dealing with the one class than w T ith the 
other. We are going to tell you how to run a gas engine 
and a gasoline engine, but before we do that we must tell 
you something about the principles which makes it possi- 
ble for this class of engines to run. Not because this 
knowledge will make you run your engine better, but 
because, if for any reason your engine will not run, you 
must be able to make it run. 

In order to do this you must know these things, and 
then you must use your brains. There is no fire-door on 
this class of engines and no steam-gauge, so you cannot 
open the one or look at the other for information. When 
your engine don't behave right you must be able to reason 
out what can be the trouble from your knowledge of what 
ought to take place. Every year you will meet with more 
and more gas and gasoline engines, and therefore I want 
to try to make you thoroughly understand this subject. 

Now turn to page 194 and look at figure 48. This 
will give you a very good idea of a stationary gasoline 
engine of a good, modern design. It looks very much 
like a steam engine without the boiler. 

Before we talk more of internal combustion engines we 
will say a few words about the steam engines. As you 
very well know, the steam engine cylinder is generally 
closed at both ends and steam enters first at one end and 



182 The Traction Engine. 

then at the other. This makes the ordinary steam-engine 
double-acting. Or, in other words, for each revolution of 
the crank the fly-wheel receives two power impulses. 
There are other steam engines, like the Westinghouse, the 
Brotherhood, and others, which have only one end of the 
cylinder closed and therefore can only take steam on one 
end. Those engines are called " single-acting/' and they 
get only one power impulse for each revolution of their 
fly-wheel. Of course, if you put two such cylinders on 
one engine, the fly-wheel will get two power impulses for 
each revolution, but the engine is nevertheless only a 
single-acting engine. Now, bearing in mind what w r e 
have just said, you w r ill understand what I mean when I 
make the statement that most of the internal combustion 
engines are single-acting in their construction. 

You notice, I made the addition " in their construction/ ' 
and the reason is, as you will see presently, that though 
the engine is single-acting the fly-wheel will, however, 
only receive one impulse for every two revolutions, or just 
one-half as many as in the case of the single-acting steam 
engine. 

You have often seen a steam engine shut down. When 
the steam is shut off, the engine makes only a few revolu- 
tions and then stops. Now watch a gasoline engine, and 
you will notice that it runs very much longer. If you 
take another look at our figure 48 you will notice that it 



Internal Combustion Engine*, 183 

has two fly-wheels and that they look pretty heavy. A 
double-acting steam engine does not need such heavy fly- 
wheels because it gets two impulses for each revolution of 
the crank, as we saw above. Even the single-acting steam 
engine does not need as heavy ones, because it gets one 
impulse for each turn of the wheels, but the gasoline 
engine cannot get along without them, because it gets only 
one impulse for every two revolutions of the fly-w T heels. 

From this you can conclude that the weight of the fly- 
wheel gets heavier for the same regulation and speed, as 
the number of power impulses the wheels receive per 
revolution is diminished. You will often hear it said that 
a gasoline engine does not regulate as well as a steam 
engine, and that is correct ; but if you put on heavy 
enough fly-wheels you can make it regulate just as well. 
Of course, an internal combustion engine, which would 
receive more impulses per revolution of fly-wheel, would 
need a smaller fly-wheel for the same amount of regulation. 

You remember that the internal combustion engine 
burns its fuel inside the cylinder. That is, a certain 
amount of fuel and air (fuel cannot burn without air) 
intimately mixed with each other are introduced into the 
cylinder. This mixture is compressed by the action of 
the engine and at the proper time ignited inside the 
cylinder. The burning gases expand and push the piston 
forward, thus furnishing power. It is very important that 



184 The Traction Engine. 

the mixture gets the proper amount of compression, 
because this not only brings the air and the fuel into 
closer contact with each other, but it results also in warm- 
ing up the mixture, which under those conditions is easier 
ignited. 

We will now see how this ignition is accomplished, and 
we will mention the various devices in the same order as 
they were brought out. 

Open flame ignition was used in combination with a 
slide-valve. This kind of ignition is only found on very 
old engines and is not used any more. 

Tube ignition is still used on some makes of engines, 
but is gradually disappearing. It consists of a hollow 
tube of nickel, steel, iron, or even porcelain, kept at a 
temperature varying from red to yellowish-red. The heat 
for this purpose is generally furnished by a " Bunsen " 
burner, " Gasoline torch," or some similar device playing 
on the outside of the tube. The compressed charge 
coming in contact with the hot walls of this tube causes 
the explosion. This kind of ignition is subject to various 
drawbacks. The most important of these is the impossi- 
bility of fixing the time w T hen the ignition is to take 
place, as this depends, among many other conditions, on 
the exact temperature of the tube, the proportion of fuel 
and air in the charge, and the temperature of the charge 
itself. 



Internal Combustion Engines. 185 

Electric Ignition. It is called electric because it fires 
the compressed charge by an electric spark, which is made 
to jump between two points inside the cylinder. This is 
the way a charge is ignited in a modern internal com- 
bustion engine. 

Before saying anything more, I will tell you that the 
point from which the spark jumps and the point to which 
it jumps are both called " electrodes." This is the regular 
name for them all over the country, and you may just as 
well know it now as later. 

There is a great number of electrical igniters. Nearly 
every maker of an engine uses a different kind. They 
belong, however, all to one or the other of the following 
two classes. Namely : 

1. Igniter with stationary electrodes. 

2. Igniter with movable electrodes. 

The electric igniter with either kind of electrodes must 
be supplied with a current of electricity. This is generally 
furnished by a battery. 

We suppose that you are well acquainted with such an 
apparatus. Probably you have an electric battery in 
your own house which rings your door-bell or your tele- 
phone bell. There are a great number of makes of bat- 
teries, and each maker of an engine has found out which 
particular one is best suited for his engine, and that is the 
kind you must use. 



186 The Traction Engine. 

Some makers use a small dynamo or "sparker," bolted 
right on to the engine, and driven by belt or gears from the 
engine. In that case you do not need a battery. 

In either case you must furnish electricity of the proper 
kind suitable for your electrodes if you want your igniter 
to work. Generally you will find that batteries are used, 
and if you have stationary electrodes you will find that 
an apparatus called an induction coil is also supplied. 
With this kind, the current from the battery goes into 
what is called the primary winding of your induction 
coil, and from there to the interrupter on the engine, and 
then back to the battery. From what is called the two 
secondary binding-posts on your induction coil two wires 
are run, one to each electrode. The action is as fol- 
lows : When the engine operates the interrupter a spark 
will jump from one to the other of the stationary elec- 
trodes, and this spark will ignite the charges. 

The igniter with movable electrodes has generally one 
electrode which is mechanically operated by the engine. 
This style must have, j ust as the other, an electric battery, 
but instead of an induction coil, must be provided with a 
spark coil. The current runs in this case from one end of 
the battery to one binding-post on the spark coil, then 
through the coil to the other binding-post and from 
this binding-post to a switch, and then to a binding- 
post on the engine and so to the stationary electrode. The 



Internal Combustion Engines. 187 

movable electrode is connected to the other end of the 
battery in such a manner that when a movable arm inside 
the cylinder touches the fixed electrode the current runs 
from the battery through the spark coil and the fixed and 
movable electrodes back to the battery. 

With this arrangement an electric spark will occur 
between the two electrodes when the action of the engine 
separates them. When we describe the different engines 
we will go into this more in detail, so that you will be able 
to locate your trouble and fix it, if it should occur. 

One or the other of the above kind of igniters must be 
used to ignite your charge. After the charge has been 
ignited the combustion takes place very rapidly and is 
very complete. It is, in fact, an explosion, and creates 
high pressure as well as high temperature. To give you 
an idea how high the temperature rises I can tell you that 
if this temperature was continued for some time it would 
melt your cylinder, or, in other words, it is about as high 
as in a blast furnace. If you measure the heat by a 
thermometer, this will register about 3000° Fahrenheit. 
Of course, you understand that it is this high pressure and 
heat which gives the power. 

By considering what I have told you above, it is clear 
that in order to get any power from the internal com- 
bustion engines you must introduce a charge, or mixture 
of fuel and air, in its cylinder, and after having com- 



188 The Traction Engine. 

pressed this charge to the proper amount you must explode 
or fire it. It follows without saying that you must pro- 
vide suitable means so that you can control and use the 
power thus created. After the charge has exploded the 
cylinder contains only products of combustion, and in 
order to prepare room for a new charge those products 
must be expelled. Now the same operations are ready to 
be repeated. Such a series of operations, always in the 
same order, one after another, is what we generally call a 
cycle, and as it is more convenient to use this word than 
to describe the operations each time, we will employ it 
hereafter. 

The above furnishes us with the reason why a single- 
acting internal combustion engine cannot get more than 
one power impulse for every fourth stroke of the piston, or, 
what is the same, every two revolutions of the fly-wheels. 

We will now see what takes place during each stroke of 
the piston, beginning at the time when the piston is close 
to the cylinder-head and when the crank and the crank- 
rod are nearly in a straight line. The piston is supposed 
to be moving towards the fly-wheels and from the cylinder- 
head. This is the beginning of the cycle, and we will 
call this the — 

First Stroke. The result of this motion is that a slight 
vacuum or decrease of pressure inside the cylinder is 
created. This will open the air valve, generally against a 



Internal Combustion Engines, 1 so 

weak spring, admitting air to the cylinder. At the same 
time a cam or a crank has opened the gas or gasoline valve. 
The two streams of air and fuel meet at the entrance of 
the cylinder and a mixture of them in proper proportion 
enters the cylinder, which is filled with this charge, as the 
piston has moved to the other end. When this is reached 
the first stroke is ended and the piston proceeds to start 
on the— 

Second Stroke. As soon as the first return stroke is 
commenced the engine closes the fuel valve, and the air 
valve is also forced to close by the increasing pressure of 
the charge and with the assistance of a weak spring. As 
the piston proceeds towards the cylinder-head the com- 
pression increases, resulting in an increase in the tempera- 
ture of the charge. These conditions continue to the end 
of the stroke. At the commencement of the — 

Third Stroke, before the piston has travelled any appre- 
ciable distance, this charge or mixture of air and fuel 
under pressure is ignited and an explosion takes place. 
This drives the piston forward with increasing speed until 
the end of the stroke, and the power is during this time 
given off to the fly-wheels, increasing their speed a little. 
Part of this power stored up in the fly-wheels is returned 
to the engine during the next three strokes. 

When the piston reaches the end of its travel in this 
direction it begins the second return, or the — 



190 The Traction Engine. 

Fourth Stroke. The engine opens at once the exhaust 
valve. Through this valve the burnt but still hot gases 
are now expelled into the air by the moving piston. 

When the end of this stroke is reached all the burnt 
gases have been expelled. Now the exhaust valve is 
closed and the cylinder is ready to take in another charge 
and thus commence the next cycle. 

The above cycle was invented by a man named " Otto," 
and is called after him the " Otto cycle." I might say 
that without this invention we would probably not to-day 
have any practical internal combustion engine. Nearly 
every one is now using it. 

I have given you an idea how the internal combustion 
engine uses its fuel. I will now tell you something about 
the different fuels which are used in those engines. 

Coal Gas. — This is manufactured, as you know, in 
nearly every community of any size. The raw material 
is coal. It is used mostly for both public and private 
lighting and is sold by the gas companies. A good engine 
will use from 17 to 20 cubic feet of this gas for each 
horsepower during one hour. On account of different 
grades of coal as well as different ways of making the 
gas it is not safe to say that the same engine will use the 
same amount in two different places. The above is an 
average and is close enough to estimate on. 

Natural Gas. — This is a natural product and is taken 



Internal Combustion Engines, 191 

from the earth through deep wells. It is found in several 
localities. As we could expect, its composition varies 
even more than the gas manufactured from coal. In 
some places engines use only 11 cubic feet per horsepower 
per hour, but in others the consumption is even higher 
than if coal gas were used. 

Producer Gas, also called water gas, is manufactured 
from cheap coal in a very simple way. It is almost the 
same gas as you get when you shut the draft off from 
your furnace and open the furnace door. It burns with a 
blue flame and does not give any light. It has been used 
for light in some cases by mixing with it some other gases 
of high illuminative power. Careful tests have shown 
that a gas engine can produce one horsepower per hour 
from the gas produced by burning one pound of coal. 

Blast Furnace Gas. — This is a waste product from the 
blast furnace and not of much importance for you. 

Gasoline. — This is a distillation product of crude petro- 
leum. Of all the fuels, this is the most important one, as 
it is used a great deal for stationary engines and almost 
exclusively for the portable or traction engines of this 
class. It is commonly known as " Store gasoline " or 
"74° gasoline." A good engine will burn from one- 
eighth to one-tenth of a gallon per horsepower per hour. 
Gasoline is very common and almost every store is selling 
it. Nevertheless it is very explosive, and cannot be 



192 The Traction Engine. 

handled with too great care. This must not be forgotten 
by the young engineer, or he is sure to get into trouble 
some time. 

If you are using gasoline keep your supply well and 
securely closed, and see that your tanks and pipes are free 
from leaks. The best way is to have every joint soldered 
and not depend on a common pipe joint. The combina- 
tion of small leak and a match has often proved a disas- 
trous one. 

Another thing to remember is to be sure that you 
always fill your tank in daylight. Do not try to do this 
when you cannot see. Even in daylight be sure there is 
no fire of any kind and that no one who is liable to strike 
matches is near you. Make this an absolute rule. 

I will now tell you what is a good way to fill your 
tank. Secure about six feet, or more if needed, of one- 
half inch rubber hose. Roll up your gasoline barrel on 
something so that the bottom of the barrel is higher than 
the top of your tank. See that the bunghole is on top, 
and feed in your hose through the bunghole. 

When you are doing this see that there are no kinks in 
the hose and that the outside end is open so that the air 
can escape. When you have only a few inches left push 
the hose in as far as you can reach, if possible under the 
gasoline surface, and pinch the end of the hose so that 
neither air nor gasoline can get out. Draw your hose out 



Internal Combustion Engines. 193 

slowly, keeping tight hold on the end until you have 
brought the end below the bottom of the barrel. Put the 
hose in your tank, and if you have done just as I have 
told you, you will have no more to do than to let the gas- 
oline run. It will continue to run as long as there is any 
left in the barrel or as long as the end of the rubber hose 
inside the barrel is under the surface of the gasoline. 

Coal Oil or ordinary " lamp oil " is, like gasoline, a 
distillation product from crude petroleum. Very few 
engines can use this fuel. 

Alcohol is mostly a distillation product of wood, and is 
hardly ever used in this country as fuel for internal com- 
bustion engines. 

DESCRIPTION OF STATIONARY GASOLINE ENGINES. 

Our first cut (see Fig. 48) represents one of the "Otto 
Gas Engine Works " machines. We have selected this 
as a typical stationary engine and will describe it in all 
details, as completely as possible. 

Now look carefully over this cut, so that you will re- 
member it, as we shall have to refer to it a great many 
times. We note first that very many parts are quite 
familiar and similar to those of the steam engines. As we 
have mentioned before, this engine has two very heavy 
fly-wheels, and we saw also why this is good practice on 
the internal combustion engines. 
13 



Internal Combustion Engines. 



1 'J5 



I want you to note the size of the crank shaft. It is 
considerably larger than the corresponding part of the 
same size of a steam engine. If you remember the weight 
of the wheels and the very heavy pressures the crank is 
subject to, no more need to be said on this account. 

The main bearings are for the same reason also larger. 




Fig. 49. 



The oiling is taken care of by an arrangement (see Fig. 
49) consisting of a small ring dipping in an oil reservoir 
and hanmno; loose over the main shaft. As the shaft re- 
volves the ring is carried round with it. This supplies 
all the oil the bearing will need. By unscrewing the 
plug o you can drain the reservoir. I would advise you 



196 The Traction Engine. 

to do this once a month. New oil is supplied from 
the top. All the attention this kind of oiling device 
needs is to see that the ring is moving, and occasionally 
to add some new oil. See that the covers are always on, 
so that no dust can get in. 

The piston is the next part of importance. You can 
see that this is very much longer than the one we 
would use in a steam engine of that size. It has gener- 
ally three packing rings in place of the two in the steam 
engine. This is necessary on account of the very high 
pressure that the piston has to stand. The rings are made 
in the same manner as for the steam engine. They are, as 
you know, of cast-iron and must be handled with care, as 
they are very easy to break. I will mention here that if 
you notice any black oil coming out from the cylinder, 
you will find that probably one or more of your rings are 
broken, and then you must investigate as soon as possible. 
Remove your piston and replace the broken ring with a 
new one. The sooner this is done, the better for the en- 
gine. Keep an extra piston ring always on hand. It 
may save you or your employer a good many days and it 
costs very little. You may not need it for years, but 
when you do, it pays not to have to wait for the factory 
to send you one. 

The single-acting engine has no piston rod. The crank 
rod pin is generally supported in the w T alls of the hollow 



Internal Combustion /Engines. 



197 



piston. (See Fig. 50.) It is oiled from the cylinder 
oiler when the engine is running. Before you start your 
engine you must turn your fly-wheels so that the small 



CV'UNDER OILER 




Fig. 50. 



hole in the top of the piston and the oil hole in the top 
of the cylinder are in line, and then supply some oil by 
squirting down through both holes. (See Fig. 50.) 



198 The Traction Engine. 

I will tell you now, don't use any other oil in the cyl- 
inder oil cup than high test oil, and never filtered oil. 
By remembering this you will escape a lot of trouble. 

The crank pin is supplied with oil from an oil cup on 
top of the guard, by means of a wiping arrangement 
similar to those used on the steam engines. This is an- 
other cup I would advise you not to use filtered oil in. 

Cylinder, — At first sight this important part looks ex- 
actly like the steam cylinder, but by closer inspection you 
soon discover differences. Note on our figure 48 that the 
top of the cylinder has an opening; or you may turn to 
page 201 and look at figure 54 and note the pipes B, A, 
and D. You will see that A is the inlet, B the outlet, 
and D the waste pipe for cooling water. From this you 
conclude that what at first you regarded as the cylinder is in 
reality only the outside shell, and that between the real 
cylinder and this shell is a space intended for cooling the 
cylinder when the engine is running. The cuts, figures 
51, 52, and 53, give you a very good idea how this im- 
portant part of an internal combustion engine is made. 

Figure 51 shows the cylinder bolted to the frame of 
the engine. The long stud bolts hold the cylinder head 
in place. Asbestos packing about ^ T inch thick dipped 
in linseed oil keeps this joint tight. If this joint should 
start leaking, you will have to remove the cylinder head, 
scrape the joint clean from the old packing, and put in a 



internal Combustion Engines. 



199 



new one. Figure 1 52 shows the cylinder bead with the 
valves removed. Figure 53 represents the outer shell, 
between which and the cylinder the cooling water circu- 




Figs. 51, 52, and 53. 



lates. AVater is mostly used for cooling, but some manu- 
facturers use oil. 

Stationary engines are generally supplied with water 
under pressure from some water system. In this case the 
water enters at a point marked A (see Fig. 54) close to the 



200 The Traction Engine. 

exhaust valve, and flows between the shell and the cylin- 
der. It leaves the engine on top through a pipe marked 
B in an open stream. A funnel-shaped cup, cast in the 
shell, and provided with a drain-pipe marked D, carries 
the hot water away. 

The valve G on the same figure regulates the amount 
of water. Enough water must be turned on so that the 
temperature of the water leaving the engine is between 
130° and 190° Fahrenheit, or just hot enough not to 
burn the hand. 

If water is scarce, the same water can be used over 
and over again by providing a large water tank in which 
the surface of the water is higher than the top of the 
cylinder. Near the top and the bottom of this tank pipe 
connections are made to the cooling jacket of the engine. 
The flow is automatic and depends on the fact that hot 
water is lighter than cold. When the water in the cylinder 
jacket has been heated, it is forced to rise to the top of tank 
by the heavier cold water. The water in the tank is cooled 
by the air, and thus the circulation is kept up. By this 
cooling system the amount of water required is, however, 
too large for use with portable or traction engines. In 
order to reduce it, artificial cooling is resorted to. By 
the use of this system some manufacturers claim to be 
able to run on a total of eight buckets of water in the 
tank and a supply of four buckets per day. 



Internal Combustion Engines. 



201 




h-l 



202 The Traction Engine. 

The purpose of all these arrangements is to keep the 
temperature of the cylinder walls considerably lower 
than the gases. You remember I told you that the tem- 
perature of the gases inside the cylinder of an internal 
combustion engine is about 3000° Fahrenheit, or about as 
hot as a good clean fire under a boiler. If no means of 
cooling were provided, the cylinder would therefore become 
red hot in a very short time. This would soon stop the en- 
gine from running, and might even result in a total wreck 
of the engine. Therefore always keep an eye on your water. 
Never forget it. If there is the least possibility that the 
supply is not reliable, provide yourself with one or two 
barrels and arrange so that you always have them filled 
with w T ater. Put them up high enough so that the water 
will run through the engine by gravity. Have a hose 
attached so that they are ready for use at once in case of 
an emergency. 

Never let your engine run longer than five to six 
minutes without water. If w^ater is scarce, you can save 
some by letting the temperature of the overflow get up to 
200° Fahrenheit — but watch your engine, as you will be 
taking considerable risk. 

Underneath the cylinder you will find a valve marked 
E on a pipe connected to the drain-pipe D. This is 
intended for draining the water between the shell and the 
cylinder. Always run the w T ater out of your engine when 



Interned Combustion faif/mes. 203 

you stop down for any length of time. It is absolutely 
necessary to remember this in cold weather. If your 
water-supply is hard or very muddy, daily washing out is 
necessary in order to keep the space between the shell and 
the cylinder clean. To allow this space to be filled up 
with scale or mud would have a very serious result, as 
that part of the cylinder walls which the water could not 
reach would soon become overheated, causing premature 
ignition with a probability of wrecking the engine. Once 
a year it is good practice to wash this space out with a 
weak solution of muriatic acid and water. 

There is another thing about the cylinder I want to 
call to your attention. Put a spirit-level on the side shaft 
and you will see that it is not level ; it leans towards the 
fly-wheels. Now, that is just what it ought to do, and to 
put up the engine any other way would produce bad 
results. The reason is that you must prevent as much as 
possible the lubricating oil from getting into the cylinder, 
and at the same time supply the piston with enough oil so 
that it will not cut. The oil cup for the cylinder is 
generally of the sight-feed type, and for medium-sized 
engines from two to three drops per minute is generally 
enough, except when the engine is new. Here is a chance 
for a careful engineer to use good judgment. 

What harm could it possibly do to get lubricating oil in 
the cylinder? Well, lubricating oil is largely composed 



204 The Traction Engine. 

of carbon, and when yon burn it you know that it will 
make a great deal of soot. This is just what happens 
when lubricating oil gets into the cylinder. The soot is 
deposited on the walls and on the end of the piston. On 
the walls it does not do a great deal of harm ; every stroke 
of the piston cleans the soot off; but even here it may 
result in premature ignition. The most danger is due to 
the soot deposited on the end of the piston. If this be- 
comes thick enough, it will get on fire and ignite the 
charge before the piston has reached the end of its stroke. 
Such a premature ignition may result in a cracked crank, 
a bent crank rod, or a leaky packing. It is the engineer's 
duty to guard against such possibilities. Only careless- 
ness is responsible for such an accident. This does not 
mean that you must examine your piston all the time. 
The engine will let you know, if you pay attention to it, 
when it needs help. If you have a black smoky exhaust, 
or if your igniter electrodes need much wiping off, it 
means that you are probably feeding too much oil to the 
cylinder, and if you reduce it and get better results you 
do not need to be afraid of carbonization. Now don't 
think that this means that you must tinker with the 
engine all the time. It doesn't. Let well enough alone. 
Remember this, as it is a good rule for all kinds of 
machinery. 

Once more, we note on figure 48 a long side shaft ex- 



Internal Combustion Engines, 205 

tending all the way back to the cylinder head. It rests in 
bearings (see Fig. 52). This shaft gets its motion from 
the crank shaft by means of a pair of spiral gears. I 
will caution you here, never to remove any gear wheels 
from a gas or gasoline engine, for repair, cleaning, or for 
any other cause, without first marking two teeth, one on 
each wheel, or, better still, mark one tooth and the groove 
in which it belongs. Most manufacturers mark them be- 
fore the engine leaves the shop ; but it is necessary to 
know that your engine is so marked. Therefore do not 
remove any gears before you are sure. When you put 
them back, see that you get the marks together. If you 
don't, you w 7 ill have trouble. You can readily understand 
that if the cams and valves which are operated from this 
shaft don't move at the right time, your engine will not 
work at all, or will work badly. 

Governor. — The first purpose of this side shaft is to 
drive the governor. To accomplish this, a bevel gear 
wheel is securely keyed on it. (See Fig. 55.) This wheel 
engages with a small pinion which drives the governor 
shaft. The governor balls move out in accordance w 7 ith 
the speed, just as in a governor on a steam engine. Instead 
of operating a valve rod directly, the governor moves a 
little wheel or gasoline roller, J, from one side to the 
other by means of an angle lever, I and D, provided with 
a forked end. 



206 



The Traction E> 



ngme. 



Sometimes this gasoline roller runs over the cam K on 
the driving shaft, and sometimes alongside of it. When 
the gasoline roller J runs on the cam K, it lifts the lever 
W, which opens the gas or gasoline valve so that the en- 
gine can take in fuel. When it runs on the side of this 




Fig. 55. 

cam K, the supply valve is closed. The speed of the 
engine depends, therefore, on the supply of fuel. When 
it does not get enough gasoline, because the valve is 
shut, it will slow down, and this brings the roller J over 
the cam K which opens the gasoline valve. The engine 



Internal Combustion Engines, 207 

will then increase a little in speed, causing the roller to be 
moved back out of the road for the cam K. 

This way of governing the engine has been called the 
" hit and miss way/' or the " hit and miss principle. " 
The cover on top of governor can be lifted up in order to 
oil the levers. By changing the weight of this cover, the 
engine speed can be slightly changed. 

Fuel. — Different kinds of fuels must be supplied in 
different ways. If gas is used, it is only necessary to pipe 
it to the engine. The precaution is generally taken to in- 
troduce in the pipe line a rubber bag, or some other device 
which will act as a reservoir. There is no need of any 
special devices to furnish the gas except to see that the 
pipe is large enough. If gasoline is used the case is dif- 
ferent. For the sake of safety, the gasoline supply is 
generally located outside the building and on a lower level 
than the engine. It must therefore be pumped up when 
needed. For this reason (see Fig. 56) the engine is pro- 
vided with a small plunger pump P, which is so arranged 
that it takes the gasoline from tank T through pipe S and 
forces it up to the overflow cup N. From this cup flows 
such gasoline as is not used back to the tank T through 
the overflow pipe O. The pump P is operated, when the 
engine is running, by the eccentric mounted on the side shaft 
and secured to the pump plunger I by the wing stud M. 

If the engine is left standing any length of time, the 



Internal Combustion Bmgines. 209 

gasoline lias generally leaked back to the tank T and a 
new supply in the overflow cup N must be secured before 
you can start again. Under those conditions you remove 
the wing stud M from pump plunger I and insert the 
centre stud on the small handle K supplied for this pur- 
pose in the hole of the pump plunger I. Screw in the wing 
stud M in the eccentric rod, insert the stud M in the hole 
on the handle K and the pump can then be operated by 
hand. After you have pumped up enough gasoline in the 
overflow cup X, so that it overflows in the pipe O, place 
the pump in condition to be worked by the engine by 
reversing the operation just described. After you are 
through with your small hand-lever, put it back in its 
proper place, so that you do not have to hunt for it next 
time you need it. Give the plunger a drop of oil and 
wipe the pump clean. Attend to this before you leave the 
pump. 

The main valve controlling all the supply of gasoline 
to the engine is located on the supply pipe a little under the 
cylinder head and is marked F ± on figure 56. This valve is 
generally of the old conical type and has a tendency to 
leak. A little emery and oil can easily make it tight. A 
leaky valve is not a good recommendation for the en- 
gineer, and besides it is dangerous ; therefore see that it 
is tight. 

This valve is furnished with a handle, one end of which 
14 



210 The Traction Engine. 

plays over a graduated scale, so that the position of the 
valve can be located. The other end of the handle car- 
ries a small electric switch, and plays over a contact piece 
fastened on an insulated support. This contact piece has 
a binding-post on one end, and to this one of the battery 
wires is connected. When the valve is opened the small 
electric switch on the handle makes contact with the contact 
piece. When the valve is closed, the contact is broken. 
After passing this valve, the gasoline flow^s through a 
small pipe to another valve marked V on figure 56. This 
last valve is of the needle type with a fine thread on the 
regulating stem, so that the amount of gasoline can be 
regulated very accurately. It is adjusted in the shop and 
ought not to be changed except by a man w T ho knows his 
business. After the position is determined a mark ought 
to be made on handle D (see Fig. 55) opposite the little 
rod E so that it can be moved back to the right position 
in case it should have been disturbed. It is a good rule 
not to move this valve at all. The engine is very sensi- 
tive, for too much or too little gasoline and one-half a turn 
on thi^ valve may bring it out of adjustment. If on 
your engine there is no mark, make one at once, so that 
you can see if anybody has meddled with it or not. 

Before the gasoline can enter the cylinder it must pass 
another valve, the gasoline valve proper. This valve is 
of the poppet type and is operated through the lever W 



Internal Combustion Engines. 



211 



by the governor. (See Fig. 55.) A spring secured to the 
exhaust lever stud keeps this valve always shut, except 
when the small gasoline roller J runs over the cam K. 
(See Figs. 55 and 57.) 

Exhaust Valve. — (See Fig. 57.) This valve is also of 




exhaust lever^ 

Fig. 57. 



the poppet type and should always be tight, a strong 
spring keeping it shut. It is operated by a cam on the 
side shaft through the exhaust lever. The construction 
is plainly seen in the cut. The exhaust lever carries a 
small steel roller on the end which rests against the 



212 The Traction Engine. 

cam H. (See Fig. 55.) The same spring which keeps the 
exhaust valve shut also keeps the roller tight against the 
cam H. You can see from the cut the action of the cam 
H on the exhaust lever. Every time the cam H passes 
over the small roller on the end of the lever the spring 
under the exhaust valve is compressed and the valve 
opens. This valve is always hot, and I advise you not to 
use oil on any part of it. The oil will only make the 
valve stick harder. If it does not work properly, take 
it out and clean it with coal oil and put it back again. 
If it shows any bright spots, rub them with fine emery 
cloth. 

The cam H on the side shaft is put on a loose sleeve 
which can be moved by a small hand lever along the 
side shaft. If you look carefully at figure 48 you can see 
this lever with the handle just under the gasoline valve. 
As shown in the picture, the handle is in position for 
starting the engine. On figure 55 it has been removed in 
order to show the exhaust valve clearly. The sleeve car- 
ries two cams, and by pulling the lever to the position as 
in figure 48 a larger cam comes under the roller of the 
exhaust lever, this making it easier to start. When the 
engine begins to run, push this lever back towards the fly- 
wheels as far as it will go and leave it there. 

Air Valve. — This is placed next to the gasoline valve. 
(See Fig. 55.) It is like most of the valves of the poppet 



/ntenm] Combustion Engines. 213 

type and is kept shut by a small spring. It works auto- 
matically, being opened by the suction of the piston and 
closed by the spring and held closed by the compressed 
charge. 

Igniter. — (See figures 58, 59, and 60.) Figure 58 
gives a view of the igniter removed from the machine. 
Figure 59 is a cross-section, and figure 60 is a top view 




Fig. 58. 

of the same. It consists mainly of two parts, a stationary 
electrode marked A and a movable one marked I and O. 
The stationary part consists of a stem, A, carefully insu- 
lated. The insulation consists of two lava bushings, 
marked C. Small asbestos washers are used on each side 
of the lava bushings and the whole is tightened up by the 
nut G, which also serves as a binding-post for one of the 



214 



The Traction Engine. 



wires from the battery. The end inside the cylinder car- 
ries a small platinum washer. The electric spark jumps 
from this washer to another small piece of platinum on the 
end of the movable electrode. 

The movable electrode is not insulated from the engine. 





Figs. 59 and 60. 



This electrode consists of a long stem with a valve-like 
shoulder which, inside the cylinder, has the shape of a 
small lever, on the end of which a small piece of plati- 
num is fixed. The other end carries a piece marked K 
pinned to the stem. A movable piece M is connected by the 
spiral spring X to this piece K. This brings the lever 



Internal Combustion Engines. 215 

I and the platinum piece on it against the platinum disc 
on the stationary electrode without a blow and with an 
even pressure. The current runs from the insulated con- 
tact piece under the gasoline valve handle, through the 
handle and the iron-work direct to this electrode. 

The movable electrode is operated by the igniter lever 
C (see Fig. 57), which, pushing against the piece M, 
brings the two platinum pieces together and starts the cur- 
rent flowing. The action of the spring N separates them. 

The igniter lever is operated from the side shaft by 
being hinged on an eccentric stud, secured in a disc on the 
end of this shaft. The igniter must be thoroughly under- 
stood, and it is well to look it over every now and then. 
If you find a small leak of gas, it is best to remove the 
igniter at the first opportunity and examine it carefully. 
If any of the bushings or washers look doubtful, replace 
them by new ones. Keep always some of these lava 
bushings and asbestos washers on hand. They are not 
expensive, so there is no excuse for not having any in 
stock. Before you replace the igniter, see that the mova- 
ble electrode moves freely, and wipe both electrodes clean 
and dry. A little cylinder oil on the inside surface pre- 
vents condensation and will not hurt. 

As the joint between the cylinder-head and the igniter 
is ground, I want to caution you to be sure that both 
those surfaces are clean before you replace the igniter. It 



216 The Traction Engine. 

is also important that after replacing the igniter you take 
up, first on one nut and then on the other, a little at each 
time, alternating between them until the joint is tight, as 
it is easy to spring the flange of the igniter by drawing 
up too much on one nut. 



PART ELEVENTH. 

HOW TO RUN A GAS OR GASOLINE 
ENGINE. 



Well, that was what we started out to tell you. You 
may think that all that we have told you so far does not 
have anything to do with that subject, but it is not so. 
It has everything to do with it, and the better you remem- 
ber it, the better you will handle your engine. 

We will suppose that it is a gasoline engine. A gas 
engine is for all practical purposes a gasoline engine, with 
tank, pump, and gasoline left out. Therefore if you know 
how to start the gasoline engine, you can certainly start 
the gas engine. Ave will further suppose that the engine 
has been erected by an experienced man, and that every- 
thing is in its proper place and that nothing is missing. 
Now, what would you do? From your knowledge of 
machinery, you would naturally pick up an oil can and 
start to fill the cups and the bearings of the engine. 
Right here I will tell you that an internal combustion en- 

217 



218 The Traction Engine. 

gine wants good oil, and that for the cylinder must be used 
only a special high test oil with a very high flash point. 
That means an oil which does not burn before it is very 
hot. Never use a vegetable or animal oil for this class of 
engine. If you do, you are sure to have trouble. Use 
only mineral oil. Heavy cylinder oil will do. A sure 
sign of too light oil is that the exhaust is smoky and that 
smoke comes out of the open end of the cylinder. Light 
oil will also cause the packing rings on the piston to stick 
in their grooves and will deposit carbon on the cylinder 
and on the piston. This last is probably the most serious 
trouble of them all. 

In order to get good oil for your cylinder tell your oil 
man that the oil you want must have a flash point of 
about 400 degrees Fahrenheit ; that the burning point must 
not be below 475 degrees Fahrenheit, and that the specific 
gravity must be about 24J degrees Baume, and he will 
know what you want. If he does not have it on hand, he 
can get it for you. 

Another thing about oil. In order to save it you may 
filter the old oil and then use it over again, but it is best 
to make it a rule never to use filtered oil on your crank- 
pin. 

Put also a few drops of oil on the cams and on the 
bearings and also on the plunger of the pump. After you 
are sure that every oil hole has got a few drops of oil, 



Hoio to Run a Gas or Gasoline Engine. 219 

take some waste and wipe off the excess of oil all over the 
engine 

Remember, you must always keep your engine as clean 
as possible. 

The next thing you want to know, is whether your 
igniter and your battery are in good working order or not. 
To find out if the igniter is in good condition, you will 
have to take it out and examine it, as we told you before. 
For the present we will suppose it is all right. 

To test the battery, take out the wire in the binding- 
post of the stationary electrode, close the little battery 
switch, which is placed near the engine, and strike a light 
blow with the bare end of the loose wire on the binding- 
post where the other wire is connected. If you get a 
bright spark the battery is in working order. 

We will take for granted that you have examined the 
gasoline tank and that you have found it full with gasoline 
and also that all the connections between the engine and 
the tank are tight. 

It remains, then, to supply your engine with gasoline be- 
fore you can start it. To do this it is only necessary to dis- 
connect your gasoline pump from the engine and operate 
it with hand. I told you how to do this in the description 
of the engine, so it is not necessary to repeat it here. You 
must keep on pumping until the gasoline appears in the 
overflow cup. You can see if you have enough by lifting 



220 The Traction Engine. 

the small cover. Sometimes, if the engine has stood long, 
the pump will not lift the gasoline on account of the air 
in the pipes. A little gasoline poured into the overflow 
cup generally starts the pump pumping. You must remem- 
ber, however, that before you pour in the gasoline you 
must open the gasoline valve F, see figure 56, a little in 
order to allow the air in the pipes to escape. Without 
this no gasoline will reach the pump. Before you start 
pumping, close it again. As soon as the gasoline has 
reached the overflow cup, you can stop pumping and must 
disconnect the pump handle. Connect the plunger on the 
pump with the eccentric rod so that the pump will be 
operated by the engine after it is going. 

Prop up the governor with the little lever you will find 
below, pivoted on the bracket supporting the governor. 
Pull the handle operating the sleeve of the exhaust cams 
towards the cylinder end of the engine. Put the igniter 
lever on the smallest diameter of the little roller which 
supports it. Turn on the oil cups. Pull the fly-wheels 
round a few turns, so as to clean out the cylinder and to 
give the oil a chance to distribute itself. At the same 
time keep an eye on the valves and see that they work 
properly. 

I told you before never to use oil on the gasoline, air, 
or exhaust valves, but here is a good place to call attention 
to it again. To keep these valves in good order, I want 



Haw to Run a (his or Gasoline Engine. 221 

you to give the stems a few drops of coal oil occasionally. 
For this reason, keep a small oil can always at hand and 
see that it is filled with coal oil. 

Now note if the small gasoline roller is just in front of 
the cam which operates it. If it is not, move the fly- 
wheels enough to bring it in this position. I would advise 
you to make it a rule always to place your engine in this 
position when you stop, as you are then ready to start at 
a moment's notice. 

You are now ready to start. Turn on the small electric 
switch, give the gasoline valve F about a quarter turn, 
and take hold of the rim of one of the fly-wheels and turn 
them over as rapidly as you can. Two turns are generally 
enough and an explosion takes place. Your engine is 
going. Now open the gasoline valve a little more, push 
the handle which operates the sleeve on which the exhaust 
cams are placed, to the front of the engine as far as it will 
go. Move the little roller supporting the igniter lever in 
such a position that this lever rests on the largest diameter 
of the small roller. Turn on the gasoline valve in full. 
Start the cooling water flowing, by turning on the water 
valve G, see figure 54, and close the valve E in the drain 
pipe under the cylinder. When the water is flowing out 
through the pipe B regulate the stream by the valve G, so 
that you get about the temperature you want. 

Now your engine is ready for a day's work. 



222 The Traction Engine. 

Had the engine been burning gas instead of gasoline, 
you would have started it in the same way, except that all 
operations which have anything to do with the gasoline 
would have been omitted, as the gas is supplied under 
pressure and does not have to be pumped up. 

Now suppose that, after you had finished all those prep- 
arations, your engine would not start . What would you 
do ? Pick up a wrench and start taking it apart ? No, 
don't do that. 

First of all, turn off your gasoline, open your battery 
switch, attend to the oil cups and stop off the cooling 
water. Go over the instructions again and see if you 
possibly have forgotten any. I have seen an engineer 
work for a long time with his engine trying to get it 
started, simply because he forgot to prop up the governor. 

Why is it necessary to prop up the governor ? Well, if 
you had studied the previous pages carefully, you would 
not need to ask this question. However, the answer is 
that no engine can run without fuel, and propping up the 
governor brings the gasoline roller over the gasoline cam, 
with the result that the gasoline valve opens when you 
turn the engine over and allows the gasoline to enter the 
cylinder. You realize, of course, that the engine will not 
run if it does not get any fuel. 

This brings up another question ; namely, does the 
speed of turning have any influence on starting? When 



How to Run a Gas or Gasoline Engine, 22i\ 

you turn the fly-wheels over, it is clear that you cannot 
turn them as fast as when the engine is running, and this 
results in keeping the gasoline valve open very much 
longer than when the engine is operating normally. This 
explains why it is necessary not to open the gasoline valve 
wide, as I cautioned you before, when you want to start 
up. You can readily see that the longer the automatic 
gasoline valve is kept open, the more gasoline will get into 
the cylinder. You might think that a little too much 
gasoline cannot hurt. Take my word for it and don't try 
it except if you are very anxious to get some exercise. 
Your engine will not start with an excess of gasoline, or 
in case of a gas engine with too much gas ; and the longer 
you keep on trying, the more gasoline you will have to 
deal with, and your chances for a start are getting smaller 
and smaller. The best thing to do in a case of too much 
gas or gasoline is to close your gas or gasoline valve and 
keep your fly-wheels going for five to six turns, or long 
enough to be sure that all gas or gasoline has been ex- 
pelled from the engine cylinder. When this is accom- 
plished, start all over again, but see that you don't forget 
anything. 

In order to be sure that nothing shall be forgotten, it is 
best to make it a rule to start your engine always in the 
same manner. That is, whenever you start your engine, 
do each operation one after another, but always in its turn. 



224 The Traction Engine. 

In this way you will get so accustomed to do it right, that 
you cannot do it any other way. 

Now suppose your engine is running all right and that 
all on a sudden it slows down and then stops. What is 
to be done ? "Well, first of all, do what I told you to do 
in the above case — that is, turn off the gasoline, the oil, 
and the water. After this is done, examine your fuel 
supply. In case of a gas engine the rubber bag will show 
at a glance if you have gas or not. In case of a gasoline 
engine, you can find out by lifting the cover of the over- 
flow cup. In either case, if you find that you have no 
fuel, the cause of the stoppage is ascertained. The next 
step would then be to locate the cause of the trouble. In 
case of the gas engine, look over your pipes. Probably 
you will find water in them. Look for a dip in the line, 
and if the pipes have been properly installed, you will 
find a drain cock in that place. By opening it and letting 
the water run out, the cause is removed and you can start 
again. If you find no water here or in any place between 
the engine and the meter, notify the gas company at once, 
as the trouble is outside. 

In case of a gasoline engine, you will have to find out 
first if there is any gasoline in the tank. AVe suppose 
that there is. Next you must examine the pump. See 
that you have no loose connection, or, in other words, that 
the eccentric is tight on the shaft so that the plunger 



How to Run a Gas or Gasoline Engine. 2 % lb 

moves when the engine moves. If this is all right, the 
trouble must be inside the pump somewhere. Disconnect 
the pump plunger from the eccentric rod and connect up the 
pump for pumping by hand. If after a few strokes you do 
not get any gasoline, you are sure that the fault is in the 
pump. In order to be able to examine it, you will now 
have to take it apart. To do this, disconnect the union 
between the gasoline valve F, figure 56, and the pump, 
and also between the pump and the tank. You can now 
swing the pump out round the side shaft so that you can 
test it. You will find that in the unions which you have 
just disconnected are located two small conical sieves, one 
between the pump and the tank and the other between 
the pump and the engine. If on examination of the 
sieves you find many of the small holes in them closed 
up, take them out and wash them clean in gasoline. Now 
put them back, and closing the pipe to the tank with one 
hand working the pump handle, with the other see if you 
can feel any suction. If you do, that part is all right. 
Try the same experience on the pressure side of the pump, 
and if you can feel pressure on the hand closing the pipe 
you can consider that the pump is all right again and that 
you have removed the trouble. On the other hand, if any 
of these experiments do not succeed, you can be reason- 
ably sure that the trouble is with the valves in the pump. 
A small piece of packing or dirt or something similar has 
15 



226 The Traction Engine, 

probably gotten under the valves. In order to get at 
them, unscrew the top of the pump, and if everything 
looks all right wash the whole thing carefully in clean 
gasoline. If any part should show very much wear, you 
will have to get a new piece from the manufacturer, and 
in the meantime you can probably fix it by putting a little 
fine emery and oil on the valve seat and grinding it in. 
After this wash carefully with gasoline and try the pump 
again. Remember that you must not have any fire, 
matches, lamps, or torches around when you are attend- 
ing to this. It is best to do this in daylight. After you 
have gotten everything in place again, try the pump, and 
if you find that you can feel suction and pressure against 
your hand, connect up the pump and it will pump all 
right. 

Now suppose that you found gasoline in the overflow 
cup when you examined it the first time. In that case 
there was nothing the matter with the pump. And then 
you must investigate the automatic gasoline valve. Push 
it in with your hand and see how it works. It it flies 
back with a snap, it is in good order. If it sticks take 
it out and treat it as the other valve stems, with some 
emery on the bright spot and coal oil for lubricator. Be- 
fore you put it back examine the seat. It is possible that 
it may need grinding in. If so, emery and oil will make 
it all right. Wash all emery off carefully with gasoline 



How to Run a Gas or Gasoline Engine. 221 

and put it back. If there was nothing the matter with it, 
try the air valve. Take off the cover and notice if the 
lock nut on the stem is tight. See that it moves freely 
when you push it in and that the spring works properly. 
If the stem needs rubbing down, attend to it in the same 
manner as with the other valves. When you are sure that 
it is all right, attend to the exhaust valve. Try it the 
same way as you tried the gasoline valve. The spring on 
this valve is very much stronger, so you will have to use 
more force. Don't leave it before you are sure that 
springs, stem, and seat are right. Never use anything 
else than coal oil on all these valves. When you are cer- 
tain that all the valves are right, the only thing wdiich re- 
mains to be examined is the electrical part ; that is, the 
battery, the connections, and the igniter. We have gone 
over this before, but will repeat it again briefly. The 
shortest way to find out if this is in good order, is to re- 
move the igniter and to turn on the battery switch and the 
gasoline valve. The latter only so far that the contact 
piece on the handle makes contact with the insulated piece 
underneath. Now rest the igniter tightly on a bright 
part of the engine and snap the movable electrode a few 
times. If you get a good spark, it is all right. If not, 
you will have to examine each part in detail, as we have 
told you before. After in this manner having located the 
trouble in one of the following three parts, namely, the 



228 The Traction Engine. 

battery, wires and connections, and igniter, you proceed, 
of course, to examine in detail the part which is faulty. 
For our purpose we will examine them all, one after the 
other. 

Battery. — In order to find out which cell or cells are at 
fault, we test in the following manner : Take two wares; 
connect one in each binding-post of the spark coil. Con- . 
nect one binding post, say the zinc on each cell of the bat- 
tery, one at a time with one wire and touch the other 
binding-post of the same cell with the other wire. You 
will get a spark if the cell is in good order. Try thus 
each cell, one after another; and if they are good, you 
will see the same kind of a spark as you saw when you 
tried the first one. If no spark is visible or only a very 
much weaker one, w r e conclude that this cell needs atten- 
tion. There are three things which may need attention, 
and they are the zinc, the carbon or copper oxide, and the 
solution. If the zinc and carbon are very much reduced 
in size or the copper oxide shows red where you make a 
deep cut with a knife, it is probable that they need to be 
replaced by new elements. If a sal ammoniac solution is 
used, very often the water is found evaporated, and refill- 
ing the cells with water is all that is wanted. 

I might tell you here, that if you note that white salts 
are appearing on the outside of such cells they need atten- 
tion. As a rule, a battery ought to last four to five 



How to Run a Gas or Gasoline Engine. 229 

months, according to use, and if no local trouble occurs, 
all the cells ought to be used up at the same time, 
so that if it is about this time that trouble occurs, it 
is best to recharge the whole battery, as in that way you 
will prevent a great many stops. I want also to caution 
you not to run bells or any other electrical devices from 
your engine battery. As a rule, all batteries supplied 
with an engine are very much more expensive than the 
ordinary ones. Get a separate battery for your bells or 
experiments. 

Wires, Connections, and Spark Coil. — The most com- 
mon place where interruption of the current occurs in the 
wires is at the battery binding-posts. These must be ex- 
amined carefully; see that the end of the wire is made 
bright with sand-paper and that the surface underneath 
the screw-head is cleaned the same way. Be sure that 
the screws are down tight and that the wire feels solid 
when you take hold of it. If any joints are made in the 
wire, see that they are soldered. An ordinary twisted 
joint is not reliable enough. 

Examine your switch and see that all connections are 
tight and the surfaces on which the switch lever rests are 
clean and bright. Another point which needs attention is 
the small contact piece on the handle of the gasoline valve. 
See that it has spring enough and that the surface is clean. 
Do not put any oil on the surface ; use sand-paper for 



230 The Traction Engine. 

cleaning. The same holds good for the binding-posts on 
the spark coil. 

What is a spark coil ? The spark coil is simply a 
coil of insulated wire wound in several layers on a bun- 
dle of soft iron wires. The action of this coil is to in- 
tensify the spark when the current is broken. It is not 
a very sensitive apparatus, but I will caution you to see 
that it is not put up in a damp place or where water 
can reach it. If it is put up in such a place, change it to 
a dry one, as a spark coil may be destroyed in a very 
short time if put in a damp place. 

Igniter. — After running for a long time this piece may 
cause trouble by not making contact between the platinum 
disc on the stationary electrode and the small platinum 
bar on the movable one. In that case loosen up the out- 
side nut on the stationary electrode and turn the electrode 
round so that the bar hits the disc in another place. You 
can also change the striking point on the bar, by adding 
one or more small thin asbestos washers under the station- 
ary electrode. Before you replace it, see that the nut is 
tight, but do not screw it up so tight that you break the 
small lava insulators which insulate the stem from the 
metal part. Sometimes you will find a great deal of soot 
on the igniter when you remove it. That is generally a 
sign of bad oil or too much oil, and needs watching. Wipe 
it off carefullv and rub a little cylinder oil over the sur- 



How to I in it a Gas or Gasoline Engine. 231 

face before replacing the igniter. See if the cylinder oil 
cup is feeding too fast ; if so, reduce the number of drops 
little by little. The soot may also be caused by too much 
gasoline. Turn off the needle valve a tenth to an eighth 
of a turn and watch the result. As a rule, this valve 
ought not to be moved ; but if it is, never move it more 
than one-eighth of a turn at a time. 

I have cautioned you several times against the use of 
poor or thin oil for your cylinder, and also explained why 
it is necessary to have good oil, so it is no use saying any 
more about that. 

I have also explained what happens when a packing 
ring breaks, and warned you not to run any length of 
time before you replace it. I am now going to tell you 
what happened to an engineer in New England, who 
replaced a broken packing ring and then tried to run his 
engine. After putting the new ring in place, he put the 
piston back in the cylinder and connected up his crank- 
rod. The engine started in the regular way and every- 
thing seemed all right. After a few minutes, however, 
loud explosions occurred and the engine slowed up and 
nearly stopped, but recovered and started again. After a 
little while the same thing occurred again, with the same 
results. He realized that something was wrong and 
stopped. He examined everything very carefully without 
discovering anything wrong ; even took out the piston. 



232 The Traction Engine. 

The result was the same. After repeating this experience 
a few times, an expert from the manufacturer was sent for. 
The expert examined the engine on his arrival and started 
it running. His experience was the same as the engineer's, 
and noting the behavior of the engine he concluded that 
the trouble was due to premature ignition. On removing 
and inspecting the piston as well as the igniter, not enough 
soot was discovered on them to explain the premature 
ignition. An examination inside the cylinder failed also 
to reveal any deposited carbon. By a closer examination 
farther back in the cylinder with the aid of a candle, a 
small corner piece of a fire-brick was discovered. The 
piece was found in the extreme rear end of the cylinder 
head. This little piece of brick was removed. The piston 
and igniter were replaced and the engine was started. It 
was now found to run just as well as it had always done. 
An investigation of the cause brought out the fact that 
at the time the piston was removed for putting on the new 
packing ring, a bricklayer was at work repairing the ceil- 
ing over the engine. The small piece of brick had evi- 
dently been dropped by him. The engineer did not 
examine the cylinder closely enough to discover it when 
putting the piston in place. He evidently pushed the 
little piece of brick into the cylinder with the piston. 
After a few explosions this brick piece got hot enough to 
explode the charge. The carelessness of the engineer in 



How to Run (t Gas or Gasoline Engine. 233 

not discovering this piece of brick when replacing the 
piston was the cause of the trouble. A careful man would 
not only have inspected the inside of the cylinder, in which 
case he would have discovered the brick piece, but he 
would also have wiped out the cylinder with clean waste 
and afterwards oiled the surface carefully before he would 
have attempted to replace the piston. During any of these 
operations he should have discovered the piece of brick, 
but as he did not, it is very doubtful if he performed any 
of them. The engineer had been running this engine 
for many years and was considered a very good man, but 
it is evident he w r as not good enough. 

If the temperature where you are trying to start your 
engine is very low, you may have some additional diffi- 
culties. If the temperature is low enough, the cylinder 
may be so cold that the heat due to compression of the 
charge is not enough for ignition. Under these condi- 
tions it is best to get some buckets of hot water and fill 
the cylinder jacket with it. You will then have no more 
trouble in starting. Be careful not to turn on too much 
of the cooling water at a time, and when the engine- is 
running regulate it so that the temperature is about 130 
degrees Fahrenheit. To let it get much cooler than that 
is not advisable, as the gasoline will not gasify well below 
this point. 

After the run is over and when you have stopped down 



234 The Traction Engine. 

and fixed your engine so that it will be ready for starting 
next time, turn off your water-supply and open the drain 
valve under the cylinder, so that there is no water left 
standing in the jacket, as this will have very serious re- 
sults if it freezes. This omission has resulted in broken 
cylinders and cracked jackets. 



PART TWELFTH. 

DESCRIPTION OF GASOLINE 
TRACTION ENGINES. 



The gasoline traction engines are generally constructed 
on the same lines as the steam traction engines ; that is, a 
gasoline engine is placed on some kind of a frame and is 
connected by mechanical means with the wheels support- 
ing this frame in such a manner that when the engine is 
running they can be made to revolve or not as wanted. The 
absence of the large boiler which is a prominent feature in 
the steam traction engines is the most notable difference. 
They have the same large and heavy driving-wheels in the 
rear and the small wheels in front as we are accustomed 
to see on the steam traction engines. The same steering 
mechanism is also used. The various manufacturers have 
in fact made use of the same apparatus which long ex- 
perience with the steam traction engines has proved to be 
practicable. In most cases they have adopted their regu- 
lar type of stationary engines for this purpese, only mak- 

235 



236 The Traction Engine. 

ing such changes in the various parts of the engine as the 
new conditions required. The "rig" consists generally 
of a pair of heavy I-beams as foundations, to which the 
gasoline engine as well as the driving machinery and the 
axles are bolted. It is generally provided with a rear 
platform on which the operator stands and from which he 
can perform all necessary operations. All the various 
levers and handles controlling the engine as well as the 
steering-wheel handle and brake lever can easily be 
reached from this place. If you can operate a steam trac- 
tion engine, you will have no trouble in handling this 
type, provided, of course, that you are familiar with the 
gasoline engine. 

THE "OTTO" GASOLINE TRACTION ENGINE. 

This engine consists of one of the "Otto" standard 
single-acting gasoline engines supported on two heavy I- 
beams. In regard to the engine (see Fig. 61) it is not 
necessary to say anything here, as it is in every respect 
like the stationary engine of the same make which we 
have described in the previous pages. 

The engine shaft is connected to the driving-wheels by 
means of a pair of spur gears. Upon the shaft carrying 
the two spur gear pinions is placed a straight-faced pulley 
which is driven by means of friction from a fiber driving 
pulley placed on the engine shaft. The reversal of the 







o 



CO 

g 



238 The Traction Engine. 

direction of the traction engine is accomplished by bring- 
ing into frictional contact with the fiber driving-wheel 
*on the engine shaft and the straight-faced pulley on the 
transversal shaft carrying the gear pinions, a small pulley 
pivoted on a swinging lever below the driving pulley. 
The driving pulley is provided with a friction clutch which 
is operated by a hand wheel outside the hub of the pulley. 
The arrangement for cooling the cylinder without hav- 
ing to carry an excessive amount of water consists of a 
small tank (see Fig. 62) holding about ten buckets of 
water and located above the engine cylinder. It is con- 
nected with the water jacket of the cylinder by piping. 
The water flows from this tank through the pipe con- 
nected with the under side of the cylinder into the water 
jacket, where it is being heated by the hot walls of the 
cylinder. The heated water, being of a lower specific 
gravity than the water in the tank, rises automatically 
into the tank. The cooling of the water in the tank is 
provided for by forcing air through the water by means 
of a small centrifugal fan connected by a pipe to the 
bottom of the tank and driven by a belt from the engine 
fly-wheel. The manufacturer claims that about two 
buckets of water are evaporated in this apparatus during 
one-half of a day's run, or, in other words, that the engine 
needs to be supplied witli four buckets of water per day 
for cooling purposes. 



Description of Gasoline Traction Engines. 230 




Fig. 62.— Water-cooling Device of the "Otto" Gasoline 
Traction Engine. 



240 The Traction Engine. 

No special brake is provided, as all the braking effect 
needed is supplied by the proper handling of the friction 
clutch and the reverse clutch lever. 

As I told you before, all rules and precautions given 
you in the previous pages in regard to starting, running, 
and stopping of gasoline engines are applicable to this 
engine, and it is therefore not necessary to repeat them 
here. 

HART-PARR GASOLINE TRACTION ENGINE. 

This engine, manufactured by the Hart-Parr Company, 
differs in several points from the previous one, as you 
can see from figure 63. It is mounted on heavy I-beams 
and has the same general features which are found in 
nearly all traction engines. This company furnishes their 
traction machines with two single-acting engines having 
their cranks placed 180 degrees apart. They are using 
the "Otto" four-stroke cycle and are provided with elec- 
tric igniters. The traction engine is not provided with 
any special brake. The reversing lever is used for this 
purpose, as by proper handling of it either friction clutch 
can be applied more or less. The differential or compen- 
sating gear is keyed on the revolving axle. The engines 
have their cranks and crank rods completely enclosed in 
order to be able to use the spray type of lubrication. 
Most of the valves used on those engines are of the poppet 



Description of Gasoline Traction En 



'.iif/nns. 



241 




16 



242 The Traction Engine. 

type. The cylinder-head is of a half spherical forin, with 
removable valves, and has double walls between which 
the cooling fluid circulates. 

For cooling the cylinders of those engines, oil is used 
instead of water. This apparatus consists of (see Fig. 64) 
a centrifugal oil pump located on top of the cylinder, 
which pumps the hot oil from the cylinder jacket into a 
special cylindrical radiator consisting of a tank having a 
number of vertical air tubes running through from the 
bottom to the top. Through those tubes circulates the 
air, passing in at the bottom and out at the top, thus cool- 
ing the oil surrounding the tubes inside the tank. In 
order to increase the amount of air passing through the 
tubes, a funnel has been placed on top of the tank, and the 
exhaust gases from the engines are led into the bottom of 
this funnel through a pipe like the exhaust nozzle in the 
steam traction engine and having a similar effect. In 
this manner the quantity of air flowing through the cool- 
ing-tubes is greatly increased and the oil in this tank, 
which is continually used over and over again, is kept at 
a temperature very little higher than the temperature of 
the surrounding air. The above-described funnel acts 
also as a muffler for the exhaust gases, decreasing the 
noise of the explosions. 

The gasoline tank is located underneath the I-beams 
and the gasoline is pumped from this tank to the engine 
by a small pump. 



Exhaust. —* * 



Hot oil from ^^jr f 
cylinders. " 




Cooled oil to 
cylinders. 

Fig. 64. — Radiator for Cooling Oil in the Hart-Parr Gaso- 
line Traction Engine. 
243 



244 Tlie Traction Engine. 

The electric igniter is of the "movable electrode " type. 
Both a battery and a small dynamo are furnished, together 
with a switch so arranged that only one or the other can 
be used at one time. When the engine is to be started, 
the switch is put over on the battery side and kept there 
long enough for the engine to get up to speed. When 
this is reached, the operator turns the switch over to the 
dynamo side, allowing the dynamo to furnish the current 
of electricity needed for the igniter. The governor is of 
the "hit and miss" type and can be changed very quickly 
to vary the speed of the engine while it is in motion. 
The power is transmitted directly from the crank shaft 
by means of a train of spur gears including two friction 
clutches provided with large wooden friction blocks. In 
the train of gears on one of those friction clutches is in- 
troduced a small pinion, so arranged that when this fric- 
tion clutch is thrown in, the engine will drive the traction 
engine in an opposite direction than the one the other 
friction clutch drives it when it is thrown in. These 
friction clutches are operated by means of a lever so de- 
signed that when placed in one extreme position, the 
engine runs one way, and in the other extreme position 
the engine runs the opposite way. When this lever is 
placed in the middle position, neither one nor the other 
of the friction clutches is engaged. By slowly moving 
the lever from the middle position to one extreme, the 



Description of Gasoline Traction Engines. 245 

machine will start very slowly and gently; and by throw- 
ing the lever quickly over to the other extreme, it will 
quickly stop and then reverse its direction. This lever 
acts also as brake-lever if it is applied gradually, and 
therefore no special brake is supplied with this traction 
engine. 

The driving-wheels, steering apparatus, etc., are similar 
to the ones used on the steam traction engines, and need 
no special comment. 



PART THIRTEENTH. 
THE THRESHING MACHINE. 



We suppose that you are familiar with the threshing 
machine in general. It is a relatively large machine and 
looks somewhat complicated, though in reality it is quite 
simple. 

We can divide its action into three operations, namely, 
the threshing proper, the separation of the grain from the 
straw and the chaff, and the stacking which disposes of 
the straw. 

The first operation is performed by a revolving cylin- 
der, having teeth set in rows projecting from the surface 
and rotating with a high speed. 

Stationary curved parts, called concaves, also having 
rows of teeth, fitting in between the teeth of the cylinder, 
partly surround it. The teeth on the cylinder do the 
threshing, while the teeth in the stationary parts, or the 
concaves, serve to hold the straw while the grain is 
threshed out. 

246 







Hi 



248 The Traction Engine. 

The second operation, or the separation of the grain 
from the straw and the chaff, is performed in various 
ways by the different manufacturers. On this account we 
can divide the threshing machines into three classes. 
which we may call the apron type, the vibrating type, 
and the agitating type. There is very little difference be- 
tween them, and some machines are even combinations of 
them all. 

The last operation, the disposing of the straw, is per- 
formed by the stacker. This part of the machine carries 
the straw from the thresher and delivers it on the stack, 
either by means of an endless chain of slats working in 
a box, or by a blower and a pipe, which combination is 
generally known as a "wind stacker." 

Where the operation of removing the straw is per- 
formed by means of a wind stacker, the operator has a 
better control over the straw than when a common stacker 
is used. 

In addition to the threshing machine, and sometimes 
combined with it, are often found baggers, with or 
without tallying attachment, weighers, with or without 
conveyor ; wagon-loaders, grain registers, dust collectors, 
pneumatic grain elevators, band cutters, and self-feeders. 
All of these machines are easy to handle and need no 
special descriptions. 



The Threshing Machine. 249 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 

Figure 66 represents a longitudinal section of a "Landis 
Eclipse" thresher and shows the relative position of the 
parts. 

The straw enters from the front of the machine, over 
the grate, and passes between the cylinder and the con- 
caves. It is here subjected to the beating action of the 
rapidly revolving teeth on the cylinder, which loosens the 
grain from the husk. The free grain falls direct from 
here through the concaves or the separating grate to the 
" grain bottom." The grain which still remains in the 
husk is separated by being thrown with great velocity 
against the deflecting plate located close above the cylin- 
der. As the grain is liberated, part of it falls directly to 
the grain bottom below and part of it falls on the straw 
and is carried away with it. The straw, helped along by 
the action of the picker and the straw racks, is moved 
forward under continual vibrations and delivered to the 
stacker in the rear of the machine. The continual vibra- 
tions of the straw racks shake out all the loose grain re- 
maining in the straw, and their construction allows the 
grain to fall through to the grain bottom. 

The grain bottom, placed underneath the straw racks 
and the concaves, has a vibratory motion, and by this 
means the grain and the chaff are delivered to the inter- 




250 



The Threshing Machine. 251 

mediate bottoms above the "shoegrain bottom/' where the 
separation of the grain from the chaff takes place. 

The chaff and tailings are, by the assistance of a blower 
or fan and by means of the "tailings riddle" and the 
"tailings bottom/' carried to the "tailings huller" and 
elevator. 

The grain falls through to the shoegrain bottom and 
from here to the grain auger. 

The grain auger can deliver the grain to either side of 
the machine as wanted, or to other machines, such as a 
wagon loader, a weigher and bagger, etc. 

The tailings are carried by the " tailings elevator" and 
a spout to a pan above the "grain bottom" or can be 
dumped under the machine, whence they can be removed. 

The straw is taken care of by the stacker and deposited 
within twenty to thirty feet distance from the machine in 
a stack. 

This gives you an idea of the general action of the 
thresher, and we will now describe in turn each indi- 
vidual part. 

CYLINDER. 

This important part has received much attention by the 
manufacturers. I give you below (see Fig. 67) a picture 
of the " Landis Eclipse Cylinder," and also (see Fig. 68) 
a picture of the Reeves' standard cylinder. As you can 
see, they differ somewhat in appearance. Both have teeth 



The Threshing Machine. 253 

set in rows and both are built for high speed. The dif- 
ference between them lies mostly in the fact that one is 
of a closed and the other of an open construction. 

The closed cylinder has removable covers for the ends ; 
this prevents the accumulation of dust and moisture in- 
side, but does not hinder the adjustment or tightening of 
the nuts for securing the teeth. The claims for the open 



Fig. 68. — Reeves Standard Cylinder. 

type are that the grain can fall right through as soon as it 
is loosened from the straw. 

The shape of the teeth has also received much atten- 
tion. If the front and the back of the teeth have the same 
curve, it follows that the cylinder can be turned end for 
end and that you will have practically twice the wear 
with only one cylinder setting. 



254 The Traction Engine. 

As we pointed out before, the threshing is done by the 
cylinder teeth beating the straw while the concaves hold 
it in place. The adjustment of the position of the cylin- 
der is therefore very important. It must run as near central 
as possible. If it runs too much towards one side, even 
if it does not strike the concave teeth it may still run 
close enough for cracking the grain. It is always advisa- 
ble to allow a little end play, say about the thickness of a 
heavy wrapping paper on each end. This keeps the bear- 
ings in good order, makes the machine run easily, and 
saves power. Special care is taken to have the cylinder 
well balanced, as it runs at from 1100 to 1300 revolutions 
per minute. On account of this high speed, I want to 
caution you to be sure that the nuts, which hold the teeth, 
inside the cylinder are tight. With a new machine, it is 
advisable to try them every now and then, till you are 
sure that they are all tight. If a tooth gets bent or 
broken, stop down at once and replace it with a new one. 
If you do not have a spare one on hand, it is best to 
remove it and also to take out one on the opposite side, as 
this will keep the cylinder in balance. It is best to keep 
on hand a few extra teeth. 

It must be remembered that in case your grain is tough 
or hard to thresh, you may have to increase the cylinder 
speed to 1200 or even 1300 revolutions per minute. This 
increase must, however, not be made by decreasing the 



The Threshing Machine. 255 

diameter of your pulley on the cylinder shaft, because, 
as a rule, that is as small as can be allowed. Therefore 
speed up your engine until you get the correct number of 
revolutions you need for the cylinder. 

I will say here that the larger the diameter of the pul- 
ley, the less is the slippage of your belt, and also that the 
faster your engine runs, the larger is the amount of power 
it develops. As it is also true that the faster the thresher 
runs the more power it requires, you can see the necessity 
of regulating the speed with the engine. 

CONCAVES. 

In the same cast-iron box on which the cylinder bear- 
ings are mounted are secured the concaves. These consist 
of plates, generally provided with two rows of teeth each. 

The teeth are spaced so that, when properly adjusted, 
they come midway between the teeth of the cylinder. 
The concaves are removable and can be used in different 
places and in various numbers, depending on the kind of 
grain which is to be handled. They serve to hold the 
straw while the cylinder does the threshing. Different 
arrangements, both in regard to the number of teeth and 
position of them, must be used with different conditions 
of the straw. As a good rule you may put down in your 
memory that as few teeth as possible are to be used in 
your concaves. The less teeth you have, the less break- 



256 The Traction Engine. 

ing or chopping of straw will occur and the less the 
power you will need, but do not forget that the first 
object is to get the grain out of the straw; therefore you 
must have enough teeth in the machine to thresh clean. 
Generally two rows will thresh oats; four rows wheat and 
barley ; six rows flax and timothy. 

The arrangement of the blanks and the rows of the 
teeth are of importance. When straw is dry and brittle, 
place a blank in front, as this will increase the "draw." 

For "Turkey wheat" and "alfalfa" sometimes corru- 
gated teeth are used. After a few experiments you will 
soon find out what is the best arrangement for each 
special case. Different arrangements for the adjustment 
of the concaves are used on different machines. A very 
good device consists of a series of levers regulated by a 
screw in the front of the machine ; by this means the 
concaves can be moved nearer or farther away from the 
cylinder without changing their individual relations. 

SEPARATING GRATE OR BEATER. 

Immediately back of the concaves is placed the separat- 
ing plate in the Eclipse machine, or the beater in the 
Reeves, the North West and others ; the separating grate 
performing the same work as the beater. It consists of a 
grate with a curvature a little larger in diameter than the 
top of the teeth of the cylinder, and it extends a little 



The Threshing Machine 257 

above the center of the same. This form allows the free 
discharge of the straw, but the grain and chaff pass 
through, the most of them separating from the straw 
before the straw leaves the concaves. The direction of the 
straw on leaving the grate is nearly vertical, and it is made 
to strike the deflector (a smooth steel plate) with the full 
velocity of the cylinder. Here most of the remaining grain 
is liberated and the straw is spread out over the full width 
of the separator in a thin sheet, allowing the grain to drop 
through to the grain bottom. At the end of the deflector 
sheet the straw picker (a revolving cylinder with triangu- 
lar teeth) throws the straw down on the straw racks. 

The other machines use, instead of the separating grate, 
a beater which revolves immediately back of the concaves. 
It consists generally of a cylinder with four or more 
blades of sheet-iron. The beater not only helps to sepa- 
rate the grain and the chaff from the straw, but it is also 
supposed to prevent the grain from flying around as well 
as to guide it to the grain bottom. 

In combination with the beater is generally found a 
check board, which keeps the grain from being carried to 
the rear on top of the straw. In case the grain is damp 
or heavy there may be a tendency of the straw to stick to 
the cylinder; then the beater must be adjusted for more 
space and the check board must be raised so that the straw 
will pass freely. 
17 



258 The Traction Engine. 

STRAW RACKS. 

The straw racks separate from the straw that grain and 
chaff which still remains after the previous operations have 
been finished. They allow the grain and the chaff to pass 
through, but not the straw. Owing to the oscillation of 
the racks, a strong up-and-down blast is produced between 
the openings. This motion and blast change the positions 
of the straw and the chaff, and the result is nearly a per- 
fect separation. 

The straw racks must have proper attention, because if 
they are out of order or not running properly, a great deal 
of grain is carried away with the straw. The less the 
straw is cut, the better the straw racks will work. It is 
therefore of importance not to use more teeth in the con- 
caves than absolutely necessary for good threshing. All 
cranks and pitmans should have as little lost motion as 
possible and there should be no pounding. If the pitmans 
have worn short, new ones should be put in, and crank 
boxes should be moved forward by putting liners behind. 
The straw racks should be cleaned at least once a day, and 
all obstructions, such as roots, sticks, and stones must be 
removed, so that there is nothing to prevent the straw 
from going over and the grain and chaff from going 
through. 



The Threshing Machine. 259 



THE GRAIN CLEANER. 

This is a new device found in the Eclipse, and I will 
quote from the manufacturer's description as follows: 

"It is composed of three shelves (see Fig. 69); one 
below and in advance of the others. Under and along 
the front edge of the upper and middle shelves are sup- 
ported, on guides, thin bars about four inches wide. These 
bars have right-angle notches along their front edge. At 
the front of each of these bars is a journaled roller, hav- 
ing right-angle corrugated grooves of the same depth and 
number as the notches in the bars. The rollers revolve 
in bearings which are pivotally supported upon a double 
rock-arm. This rock-arm has a quick vibrating motion 
which gives to the bearings and rollers a short, quick end- 
motion. The notched bars are also connected at one end 
to the roller bearings, and receive the same motion as the 
rollers. A convenient adjustment is provided on the out- 
side of the machine for adjusting the notched bars to and 
from the rollers, for the purpose of increasing and dimin- 
ishing the space between the notched bars and the rollers 
to suit the size of the grain or the amount of work to be 
done. This makes a cleaner that is quickly and conveni- 
ently changed while the machine is in operation, and does 
not require stopping of the machine to change from one 
kind of grain to another. The quick end-motion of the 






■//Ai 

1 



■ 




mk 



f ////3 



The Threshing Machine. 261 

rollers and notched bars gives this cleaner great capacity 
with an opening of only sufficient size to let the grain pass 
through. This cleaner will separate all filth or foreign 
matter of less weight than the grain being cleaned, regard- 
less of its size. To do perfect cleaning in timothy and 
flaxseed, a special attachment is required." 

SIEVES AND SCREENS. 

In most machines the cleaning is done by a number of 
sieves. The first of these, usually called the " conveyer 
sieve" or " grain bottom," is placed under the straw racks 
and conveys the grain to the final cleaning sieves, gener- 
ally located in front of the fan. The proper selection of 
sieves, both in regard to mesh, number, and setting, is of 
great importance, and different sieves must be used not 
only for wheat, oats, barley, and others; but also for dif- 
ferent kinds of the same grain. The setting of the sieves, 
as well as the rate of feeding, has much to do with the re- 
sults. Close attention will soon show which is the proper 
sieve to use. Sometimes it may be necessary to use 
a screen in order to get rid of dust and small chaff. The 
screen is practically a sieve with very small mesh which 
does not allow the grain to pass through. Owing to the 
small size of the mesh, they very soon get clogged, and must 
then be taken out and cleaned. It is therefore not advis- 
able to use them except when the grain is very dusty. 



262 The Traction Engine, 

THE FAN. 

The object of the fan is to supply a strong blast, di- 
rected against the current of the grain; it should blow 
away all chaff and dirt winch has succeeded in passing by 
the cleaner or the sieves. For this reason, the strength of 
the blast must be carefully regulated, so that it will not 
affect the grain, but will remove all the lighter particles 
and the dirt. Every threshing machine has a regulator 
for this purpose, and the engineer must regulate the blast 
so that this result is obtained. 

I will caution you here not to change the regulator too 
much each time you find that grain is blown over, as it is 
easy to pass by the point you want to find, that is, where 
the cleaning of the grain is accomplished without waste. 

When the regulation is obtained by means of wind- 
boards, care must be taken that the board over the grain 
auger does not get bent, and it ought to be set so that the 
strongest part of the blast will strike the middle of the 
sieve. In very windy weather you must use a different 

tf ml J 

adjustment than what you generally use or the result will 
not be the same. 

Some machines use for this reason an equalizing blast- 
board which not only distributes the blast more evenly 
over or under the sieves as may be required, but also 
allows it to be concentrated in any direction, By adjust- 



The Threshing Machine. 263 

iug this hoard carefully, the effect of the wind can be 
neutralized. 

THE GRAIN AUGER. 

After the grain has reached the "shoegrain bottom" it 
drops into the grain auger, which conveys it to either 
side of the machine, or to such additional machinery as 
may be wanted. It consists simply of a long pitch screw 
revolving in a box. By reversing the belt or placing the 
drive chain on top or bottom on the sprocket wheel on the 
shaft, the grain auger will deliver the grain on the oppo- 
site side of the machine. 



THE TAILINGS AUGER. 

Underneath the grain bottom is the tailings bottom. 
This delivers the chaff and tailings to the tailings auger 
and huller. A centrifugal elevator delivers the hulled 
tailings on the first grain bottom. A door in the bottom 
of the huller allows the tailings to be delivered on the 
ground. This is a very good way to dispose of the tail- 
ings, and does not allow bolts or nuts or small tools to get 
into the cylinder. The tailings are usually carried back 
to the cylinder by an elevator driven by a chain. This 
chain must not be too tight or it will take too much 
power, but must be tight enough not to ride over the 
sprocket wheel. 



264 The Traction Engine. 

If the chain does run off, the best way to replace it is 
to tie a weight to a rope and drop it down through lower 
part of the elevator to a man underneath the machine. 
Tie the end of the chain to the end of the rope and let 
the man on top pull it up. The chain is fed in underneath 
by the man, who must see that it has no kinks and that 
it is fed in straight. When the chain has reached the 
man on top of the machine, the weight is dropped down 
again in the upper portion of the elevator, and the man 
under the machine must pull down on the rope, at the 
same time feeding in on the chain until he has both ends. 
After hooking the chain together, put it on the lower 
sprocket first, and then on the upper, and take up the 
slack with the adjusting set screws on top. Turn the 
chain around once or twice to see if it is straight and if 
the adjustment is right. 

Tailings should be small and contain very little grain. 
If too much tailings are returned it may choke the cylin- 
der, and besides there is always danger that a great deal 
of the grain so returned may get cracked in the cylinder. 
It is best to keep the returned tailings as low as possible. 

THE STACKER. 

After the straw leaves the straw-racks it is taken care 
of by the stacker. The ordinary stacker is simply an end- 
less chain of slats which carries the straw up an incline 



The Threshinc/ Machine. 265 

and drops it on top of the stack. Lately a new apparatus 
for taking care of the straw is coming into use under the 
name of the "wind stacker." This consists of a fan fur- 
nishing a strong current of air which carries the straw 
through a tube and places it on top of the stack. Vari- 
ous kinds of wind stackers are used. The one shown in 
our figure 66, the Landis "Farmer's Friend/' consists of 
a straw-drum into which the straw and the chaff are de- 
livered from the straw racks and tailings riddle. In this 
drum, on the same shaft as the fan, revolve a number of 
curved fingers, which take the straw when it is falling 
from the straw racks and give it a revolving motion 
towards the inlet of the stacker fan. 

The fan and the straw are now revolving in the same di- 
rection and with nearly the same speed. The result is that 
the straw passes through the fan without breaking. The 
other side of the fan being closed, the air, having passed 
through the fan, cannot return, and must therefore con- 
tinue out through the delivery pipe, carrying the straw 
with it. In order to allow a compact bundle of straw to 
pass by without stopping the fan, the fan shaft has a rela- 
tively large end-play w^hich enables the fan to move side- 
ways so that the bundle can pass and to return to its proper 
place as soon as it has passed through. The straw pipe 
can be telescoped and is oscillated automatically at any 
part of the circle. The automatic device can conveniently 



266 The Traction Engine. 

and quickly be disconnected and the stacker directed by 
hand to any position wanted, and can then again be con- 
nected to the automatic, which will then give to the pipe 
the same motion as before. The straw pipe stops auto- 
matically a few seconds before reversing at each end of 
the stroke. This keeps the ends of the stack and the 
middle at about the same height. At the end of the de- 
livery pipe is a deflecting nozzle which further directs the 
straw in any desired direction relatively to the delivery 
pipe. As the telescoping pipe can also be made to revolve 
round itself, the straw can be thrown at any angle of a 
circle. The device can therefore be used for packing 
straw into any corner of a barn or loft as well as in mak- 
ing any shape of a stack. 

Most of the wind stackers are similar to the one de- 
scribed, but each manufacturer's design is somewhat dif- 
ferent in detail. The " Fosston " wind stacker makes use 
of a vertical fan and does not carry the straw through the 
fan, which is somewhat of an advantage. 

SELF-FEEDER AND BAND-CUTTER. 

This is a machine designed not only to carry the straw 
bundles up and deliver them to the cylinder, but also to 
cut the band of the bundles, and to distribute the straw 
under the cylinder after the bands have been cut. 

The straw carrier is arranged in the same manner as 



The Threshing Machine, 267 

the straw carrier in the stackers and delivers the straw 
bundles under the band cutters. It also holds them in 
position while their bands are being cut. The cutter con- 
sists of a number of cutting arms, each one of which holds 
three or more sickle-edged cutting sections. The cutting 
arms are adjustable to the size of the bundles. Back of 
them, attached to the wooden bars, are the lifting blades, 
which are also sickle-edged. Any band which should 
have escaped the first set of knives will be cut by the 
second. The knives lift also the butt end of the straw 
bundles, while the heads of the same are depressed to meet 
the cylinder teeth by pronged forks placed at the extreme 
end of the wooden bars. A separate governor regulates 
these devices and prevents uneven distribution of the straw 
fed to the cylinder, as well as all crowding. Probably the 
" Parsons" machine is the one most used. It has no com- 
plicated parts and is very sensitive. The feeder is driven 
from the cylinder pulley on the thresher by a w r ide belt 
running over the pulley on its crank shank. Generally a 
small belt tightner is provided on the other end of the 
crank shaft. A pair of bevel gears run on inclined shafts 
from which the governor receives its motion by means of 
another pair of bevel gears. The governor is of the regu- 
lar centrifugal type and regulates by engaging or dis- 
engaging the feed shaft, 

The carrier is also driven from the inclined shaft by 



268 The Traction Engine. 

means of a friction wheel and a disc. By moving the 
friction wheel out or in on the inclined shaft any desired 
speed can be given to the carrier. A crank is supplied 
for this purpose, and the speed can therefore be changed 
at any time without stopping the machine. 

Attachments. — In combination with the thresher, various 
attachments are used. Generally a weigher, a bagger, and 
a loader constitute the rig. To these are sometimes added 
a "Nesmith" or a " Miller" grain-register, a dust col- 
lector, or a pneumatic grain elevator. 



PART FOURTEENTH. 
HOW TO RUN A THRESHING RIG. 



Before you uncouple your traction engine go over the 
threshing place carefully ; make note of the slope of the 
ground and the direction of the wind. The best position 
you can secure relatively to the wind is when the straw 
on the road to the .stack moves a little to one side but in 
the same general direction as the wind. 

See that you have room for your stack, that loaded and 
unloaded wagons can pass, and that nothing can interfere 
with your belts. Bearing these points in mind, select the 
position that will be most convenient and haul your 
thresher in place. If the ground is not level, dig holes 
for the wheels which are too high and block the rear 
wheels well. It is best to carry a level with you, as this 
saves time in the end. Be careful that the machine is 
level crosswise. It is not so necessary that it should be 
level lengthwise. In fact, it is of some advantage to have 
the cylinder end four to six inches higher the cleaner end; 

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How to Run a Threshing Rig. 271 

but remember it must not lean the other way. See that 
the blocks of the right hind wheel are tight, so that the 
pulling of the belt will not disturb the setting. If there 
are jack-screws above the front and rear axles, to make 
the four corners solid adjust them and screw the nuts 
down tight. Now you can uncouple and pull your trac- 
tion engine to such a position that the driving-wheel and 
the pulley on the thresher are in line. Take your time 
and do this right. It is better to spend a little more time 
now than to have your belt run off when you are running 
with a heavy load on the machine. Most of the pulleys 
are crowned, that is, they are a little larger in diameter in 
the center than at the sides, and the tendency of the belt 
is to run in the center; but if the machines are not in 
line and the shafts not horizontal, the belt will neverthe- 
less run off. Before you put the belt on, go over the 
machine carefully and clean all the bearings and oil holes 
well. Take off the belt-tightner pulley and clean the 
oil chambers and the spindle, oil them and put them back. 
If the machine is new, more care must be used when 
doing this, as paint may have got into the bearings and 
oil holes, in which case it is best to remove the shaft and 
carefully scrape the paint off. Wipe out the bearing and 
the oil hole with clean waste, oil them well, and replace 
the shaft. After you are sure they are all cleaned, put a 
few drops of oil in each oil hole. Use only No. 1 



272 The Traction Engine. 

machine oil with good body. If the machine uses grease, 
see that it is good. Don't use axle grease, as it very often 
contains resin, which will deposit on the bearings and 
cause them to heat. 

Now put on the main belt, and be sure that the machine 
runs the right way. You can easily see if the cylinder 
will pull the straw in or not. If it should run the wrong 
way, cross your belt. I will say here that it is not good 
practice to run with a crossed belt, as it takes more power. 
Sometimes, if the belt is short, and the difference in 
diameter between the pulleys is great, a crossed belt will 
give more power, but it is better not to run it crossed 
except when it is necessary. 

Another thing I want you to bear in mind is, that you 
must always run your leather belts, if they are single, 
with the hair side on the pulley. They run better and 
wear better. The reason is that the flesh side is more 
flexible than the hair side, and therefore does not crack so 
easily. When a belt travels over a pulley, the outside is 
longer than the inside, and the difference is made up by 
stretching, which the flesh side is better able to stand 
than the hair side. If you use double belts, it does not 
matter which side you put against the pulley, as both sides 
are alike. 

As we are talking of belts, I will also caution you not 
to use more tension than is needed to prevent slipping, as 



How to Run a Threshing Rig. 273 

this will not only hurt your belts, but also the bearings. 
You will also find that if you remove your belts as you 
stop down at night, or when your threshing is done, they 
will last longer. Rubber belts must run with the seam 
on the outside. 

After the belt is on the cylinder pulley, see that the oil 
cups are feeding or that the grease cups are full and 
screwed down and that no other belt is in place. Turn 
the cylinder over by hand a few turns to find out if it is 
properly adjusted and that everything is in place, and see 
that no tools or bolts have been left about where they can 
get into the machine. Now start up and let the cylinder 
run. Keep an eve on the bearings to see if they heat. 
Go over the next shaft the same way, and when this is 
ready to start, stop down and put your belt on. Turn it 
over by hand first to see that it does not bind or that the 
bearings are loose. Try all your bolts and nuts, and if 
they are loose, tighten them before you put on the belt. 
After you have put the belt in place, start up again and 
get the next shaft ready, and so on until all your belts are 
on and running. As you are putting each belt in its place, 
note carefully if it has to run straight or crossed, or, in 
other words, see that the shaft it is to drive runs in the 
direction which it should in order to make the thresher do 
its work. When you first start up, is the time to give 
your machine all the oil it needs, and as a rule it is well 
18 



274 The Traction Engine. 

to give each bearing an additional drop or two of oil after 
the machine is running, as the oil then will distribute 
itself better. After you have started to thresh, it is well 
to oil freely for the first two days, to be sure all dust, dirt, 
and grit have disappeared, after which time less oil is 
needed. Before you put belts on a pulley be sure that the 
key or the set screws are not only in their places, but that 
they are tight. If the machine has self-lining bearings, 
see that they are not bound in their seats but can move 
and are free enough to adjust themselves to the shaft. 
After attending to all this, it is best to let your machine 
run for a little while empty. This gives you an opportu- 
nity to put your speed counter on the cylinder shaft and 
find out how fast it is running. If you find that it 
makes less than 1100 revolutions per minute, increase 
the speed of your engine until the cylinder reaches this 
speed. If you do not have a speed counter, take the 
speed at the engine. To do this, place your left hand on 
the projecting end of the crank-shaft, and holding a watch 
— which has a second hand — in your right hand, you can 
count the number of revolutions the engine makes in one 
minute. If the diameter of the driving wheel on the en- 
gine is 36 inches, and the diameter of the pulley on the 
cylinder shaft is 9 inches, you know that when the large 
pulley makes one revolution, the small one makes four. 
If you have only an eight-inch pulley on the cylinder 



How to Run a Threshing Rig. 275 

shaft, the small one will make 4| revolutions for each rev- 
olution of the large one. If you counted 250 revolutions 
per minute as the speed of the engine, the speed of the 
cylinder would be in the last case 250 X 4§, or 1125 
revolutions per minute. 

Now examine your straw and make up your mind how 
many concaves you will need, as well as make a first 
setting of your cleaner. Be sure that you have enough 
space between the notched edges of the shelves and the 
grooved rollers to allow the grain to pass through. Re- 
member, also, that it is impossible to get a good separation 
without clean threshing, and for this reason it is important 
to pay careful attention to your cylinder and your con- 
caves. Also take a last look at the straw racks, so that 
you are sure that there are no obstructions left on them. 
Now send enough straw through the machine so that you 
can judge how it will work. As soon as the grain has 
passed from the spout, examine it carefully, and if you 
find that it contains small and light dirt, it is clear that 
you have not given it enough blast, and therefore you must 
move the short lever on the blast gate down a notch. Now 
examine again, and if still not clean, move your lever down 
another notch, and so on until you find the right place. 
If you should find large as well as small dirt in the grain, 
then the spaces between the rollers and the shelves in the 
cleaner are too large, and must be adjusted. If the grain 



276 The Traction Engine, 

is clean, then examine the tailings and see how much grain 
appears here. If you find a great deal of grain, it indi- 
cates that the spaces between rollers and shelves are too 
small for the amount going through the machine. The 
remedy is to make them a little larger, but it is possi- 
ble you may have too much blast. You will soon be able 
to decide which is the cause. After the machine has been 
adjusted so that everything seems all right, it is best to 
examine the straw as delivered from the stacker. If you 
should still find grain in the straw, it shows that you are 
not threshing clean. The trouble is then in the adjust- 
ment of the concaves, or that you have not enough of 
them in. With the Landis Eclipse it is generally enough 
to use only one concave in front and adjusted close to the 
cylinder ; but if you find that you are not threshing clean, 
place one solid bank in front and a concave in second 
place, or you may use two concaves, one in first place and 
another in second place. If the grain is tough, or what 
is known as " headed grain," use both concaves with a 
solid ribbed concave between them. If you find the 
"headed grain" does not thresh clean with this arrange- 
ment, it is best to increase the speed of your cylinder. 
From 1200 to 1300 revolutions a minute may have to be 
used. 

After these adjustments are all made, increase the feed- 
ing of the straw so that the amount is about normal and 



Hoio to Run a Threshing Jlig. 277 

take the speed of the cylinder shaft again. If you find 
that it is making a less number of revolutions than before, 
increase the speed of the engine till again you have the 
right number. Examine your grain and tailings again to 
see if the increase of speed has changed the results. If 
they have, you must keep on adjusting until you get the 
result you want. If your machine has a self-feeder at- 
tached, now is the time to get it started. It is not advis- 
able to let this part run when you are adjusting the rest 
of the machine, or before the thresher is running at regu- 
lar speed. A few sheaves laid on it will prevent it from 
moving. The best way, however, is to keep the belt off 
the pulley. It is easy to put it on when you need it. 
Before putting the belt on, see that the knife arms are ad- 
justed to the size of the sheaves and the condition of the 
bands. It is taken for granted that you have taken the 
same care of this part of the machine as of the others in 
regard to bearings adjustment, cleaning, and oiling. The 
bearings and cranks are to be oiled regularly ; but after the 
break-band has been run in and is smooth no more oil is 
needed. If you are using an attached stacker, it is well 
to remember that you must not use the automatie moving 
apparatus and the hand device at the same time. If you 
want to operate it by hand, it is best to take the belt off 
the automatic device. The speed of the stacker should 
be adjusted to the work it has to do by changing the pul- 



278 The Traction Engine, 

leys. The faster it runs, the more power is required, 
therefore, keep your speed as low as possible. If less 
speed is required put on a larger pulley. 

If you are using a wind stacker see that your fan is 
running all right and that it has enough end-play. In 
case of the Landis Farmer's Friend, this must not be less 
than |- of an inch, and can be one inch. The hub of the 
straw propeller must be 8 inches from the hub of the fan. 
This stacker has the automatic reversing gear located on 
top of the thresher convenient for the operator. It can 
be connected and disconnected very quickly and the straw 
pipe can be stopped in any position desired by simply 
pushing the small lever to the center position and drop- 
ping the pawl into the notch on the cover. This operation 
disconnects the automatic gear. If it is desired to run the 
pipe by hand, it is best to take off the belt on the auto- 
matic device and loosen the locknut pin on the pinion. 

Before you move the machine, see that the pipe is put 
in its bracket and well fastened. In case of fire it may 
become necessary to move your machine quickly, and 
under those conditions remove the blocks under the 
wheels, put a man at the tongue for steering, throw in 
your friction clutch on the traction engine, and back out 
slowly, pulling the thresher out by means of the main 
belt. A few men at the wheels will be of great help for 
starting and may save time. If hard to get started, let 



How to Run a Threshing Rig. 279 

the man on the tongue steer the front wheels clear around. 
This saves often a lot of time. 

There is no need of telling you that you must see that 
boxes and shafts are properly oiled, just as on all other 
machinery. 

In most threshers the boxes are babbitted, and if they 
should get hot are liable to melt out. In such a case 
the only remedy is to rebabbit. In order to do this, 
you need preferably a plumber's furnace, a good-sized 
ladle, and some good babbit ; as some boxes take three 
to four pounds of babbit, the ladle ought to hold 
at least five to six pounds of melted metal. The box 
to be babbitted must have all the old babbit re- 
moved and the surface must be cleaned carefully with 
waste to remove all dirt and as much grease as possible. 
Having done this, it is best to wash it with gasoline to 
remove such grease or oil as could not be reached by the 
waste. It is important to get all the oil or grease removed 
from the surface you want to babbit, as it not only prevents 
the babbit from sticking to the box, but also forms gases 
producing blowholes in the babbit, which may compel you 
to do the work over again. When you are sure that the 
box is cleaned, you must clean the shaft and wrap around 
it a sheet of good paper. A little glue on the edges, 
which ought to overlap each other, will hold it in place. 
See that you put the paper on smooth and even and that 



280 The Traction Engine. 

it is a little longer than the box, so that it protrudes over 
the ends. If the box you are rebabbitting is solid, place it 
over the paper on the shaft and block it up, so that the 
space all around between the box and the shaft is the same 
and equal on both ends, or, in other words, see that the 
shaft is central in the box. Now secure some good stiff 
clay or putty and close up the ends with it, leaving a hole 
on the top at each end for the air to escape. Make a 
funnel around the oil hole on top to pour the hot metal 
in. If there is more than one hole in the top of the cast- 
ing, put a wood plug through the oil hole to the shaft and 
make funnels for pouring over the other or others, as in 
that case vou will not have to drill out the oil hole after 
the box is babbitted. Now see that your babbit is hot 
enough. If a stick of white pine is charred when put 
into the ladle the temperature is right. You can now 
pour your metal. Keep it running in an even stream 
until the metal flows out of the top of the air holes on the 
ends. When you have begun pouring, don't stop if some 
runs over ; don't let that trouble you — keep on pouring 
till the box is full. After the babbit is cooled off, remove 
the box from the shaft, clean off the clay or putty, remove 
the wood plug in the oil hole and trim off the edges. Cut 
a couple of slanting grooves in the top of the box with a 
half-round cold chisel, starting at the oil hole and ending 
near the ends and close to the bottom. 



How to Run a Threxhuig Jiff/. 281 

If the box you had to rebabbit had been of the " split " 
kind you would have handled it in the same way, except 
that you would have had to get a couple of pieces of 
cardboard or sheet-iron and place them between the top 
and the bottom casting. Make them wide enough, so 
that they rest tight against the shaft, and cut holes for 
the bolts, which hold the two halves of the box together, 
to go through. 

Put enough of those cardboard liners between the two 
halves so that you can take up on the box when it wears 
down. To allow the babbit to run through from the top 
to the bottom of the box, cut notches in the edges of the 
cardboard liners resting against the shaft. Make the 
notches about \ to f of an inch deep and about one to 
one and one-half inches apart. When the babbit is cold, 
loosen up on the bolts a little and drive a sharp cold 
chisel in between the two halves of box to break them 
apart. 

After you have separated the top and the bottom, take a 
rough file and smooth down the edges, and with a sharp 
chisel cut off the pouring gates and also cut in your oil 
grooves. All this being done, take off the paper from the 
shaft. If the shaft should be rough, smooth it down with 
emery cloth or paper and then put a little oil over the sur- 
face. You can now replace the bearing on the machine. 

As w r e have seen, a threshing machine makes use of a 



282 The Traction Engine. 

great number of belts, and its running well depends to a 
great extent on how you handle and take care of them. 
We have pointed out several times how they ought to be 
used. It is to be remembered that they should not be al- 
lowed to get wet, and if they get dry and hard they must 
be softened by rubbing into them a little "neat's foot" oil. 
A soft belt transmits more power than a hard one and does 
not wear nearly as much. 

The amount of power transmitted through a single belt 
can be roughly estimated by the following rule, which it is 
easy to remember : one inch belt running with a velocity 
of 800 feet per minute will transmit about one horsepower. 
In order to apply this rule, you will have to know the 
diameter of the pulley over which the belt runs, and the 
number of revolutions it makes per minute. If the diam- 
eter of the pulley is given in inches, you must divide by 
12 to reduce it to feet, and then multiply by 3.1 in order 
to get the circumference of the pulley in feet. Multiply 
this sum by the number of revolutions of the pulley per 
minute, and divide by 800. The result is the number of 
horsepower each inch of belt can safely transmit. By 
multiplying this by the width of the belt, the total amount 
of power you can transmit through this belt is ascertained. 
For example, if your pulley is 8 inches in diameter and 
makes 1200 revolutions per minute, how many horse- 
power can an 8-inch wide single belt transmit? The cal- 



How to tiini a Threshing Rig. 283 

dilation is made as follows: diameter of pulley is 8 inches, 
which, divided by 12 inches, gives |- of a foot. This 
multiplied by 3.1 to find the circumference gives 2.05 
feet. As the pulley makes 1200 revolutions per minute, 
we must multiply 2.05 by 1200, which gives us 2460 feet 
per minute. Dividing this sum by 800, we find 3.75 
horsepower per inch as answer. Now multiplying 3.75 
by 8, the width of the belt, will give us 30 as answer, or 
we can say that we can safely transmit 30 horsepower 
under those conditions. 

In order to get the best results out of the belt with the 
least strain on the bearings, it is advisable wherever pos- 
sible to arrange matters so that the slack side of the belt 
is on top and the pulling side underneath, as in this con- 
dition the slippage is materially decreased. The belts 
ought to be examined every day to see that they are in 
good order. If any lacing shows signs of coming loose, 
relace as soon as possible. 

Lacing should be done so that the joint is as nearly like 
the rest of the belt as possible. The lacing should always 
run in the same direction as the belt on the pulling side 
and be crossed on the outside. When you want to lace a 
belt, put a square against the side and cut it off. Then 
mark your holes evenly about an inch apart; which is a 
good practice, and see that you get a hole from \ to f of 
an inch from each edge. After the holes are marked, use 



284 The Traction Engine. 

a good sharp belt punch for cutting them. If you are 
using a hand-punch and a hammer, rest your belt on the 
end grain of a block of wood and cut through with one 
blow if possible. If the belts run over very small pul- 
ley s, some engineers use a hinged lacing, that is, passing 
the lacing from one hole around the end of the belt and 
down through the next hole on the other side of opposite 
end of the belt. This way of lacing is not so good as the 
standard one, and is only to be used in special cases. 
When the lacing is finished, fasten the ends by making a 
narrow slit with a knife on the place where one hole will 
come when you have to cut your belt next time, and force 
your lace through this slit. After the lace is through, cut 
it half-way across close to the surface of the belt and cut 
it off about J inch from the belt. By twisting the half- 
inch long piece around so that it is at right angles with the 
rest of the lace, it will not slip through. If you are using 
cotton belting, make the holes with an awl instead of with 
the punch, as it does not hurt the fibres so much. 

Next in importance to the belts is the cylinder. As we 
have seen, it makes about 1100 revolutions per minute. 
If we suppose that the diameter of the cylinder is 30 
inches, the circumference is about 30 X 3.1 inches, or 93 
inches. If we reduce this to feet by dividing by 12 
inches, we find it equal to 7 feet 9 inches. As the cylin- 
der is supposed to make 1100 revolutions per minute, the 



ITow to Run a Threshing Rig. 285 

surface of the cylinder travels 7|- X 1100 feet, or 8,525 
feet per minute. If you now divide this sum by 5,280, 
which is the number of feet in one English mile, and multi- 
ply by 60 (minutes per hour), you find the surface of your 
cylinder travels at the rate of 96.86 miles per hour, or con- 
siderably faster than an express train. I wanted to call 
attention to this fact in order to impress on your mind how 
important it is to have your cylinder well balanced if you 
expect it to run well. It also explains why I advised you to 
replace any tooth which had been bent or had to be removed 
from the cylinder for other causes. If you should disregard 
this rule, you would soon find that your machine would vi- 
brate very much and try to move all over the place. This 
would be due to the fact that the cylinder would be out of 
balance. If in this condition the run is kept up very 
long, you would soon shake all the bolts in your machine 
loose, wear out your bearings, and perhaps bring the shafts 
out of line — a very serious trouble. Even with all the 
teeth in place the cylinder may become unbalanced. If 
there is any doubt in your mind in regard to the balance 
of the cylinder, it is best to test it at your earliest oppor- 
tunity. The best way to accomplish this is to remove the 
cylinder from the thresher and to place it between two or 
more heavy wood blocks with a smooth surface, so that it 
rests only on the journals. Put a spirit level on the 
cylinder shaft and drive wedges under the blocks till 



286 The Traction Engine. 

it is level. See that the wood blocks are also level, 
so that the cylinder has no tendency to roll one way 
or the other. Secure two straight pieces of steel, square 
or round, and place them under the journals and on top of 
the wood blocks. Measure the distance between their 
ends, and if it is not the same make it so. You are now 
ready for your test. Start the cylinder rolling a little, 
and when it comes to rest, mark with chalk the highest 
point on the cylinder. Do this two or three times and 
make the same kind of marks. If the mark comes nearly 
at the same spot, you can conclude that your cylinder is 
out of balance and that the spot marked is the light side. 
In case the cylinder is of the enclosed type you will find 
that it has small pockets in each end. The object of them 
is to provide a place where the weights needed for balanc- 
ing can be placed. After you have marked the light 
side of the cylinder place additional weights in the side 
pockets in line with this mark and try the cylinder again 
for balance. If it comes to rest on the same spot, it proves 
that you have not put on enough weight, and if it stops 
opposite the old mark, you have put on too much. After 
a few trials you will find a weight which will allow the 
cylinder to come to rest at any point, and that is the result 
you want to reach, as that is the proof that the cylinder is 
balanced. 

If the cylinder is of the open type no pockets are pro- 



How to Run a Threshing Rig. 287 

vidcd and you will have to balance it by driving small 
wedges under the centre band at the mark. This opera- 
tion must be continued as long as the cylinder comes to 
rest at the same place after each trial. 

It is hardly necessary to point out that it is best to put 
your thresher in first-class order after the season is over, 
and before you put it away for the winter. Every part 
of the machine ought to be cleaned, and when needed 
repaired ; boxes ought to be looked over and rebabbitted 
if worn, all nuts and bolts retightened and replaced if 
lost, all teeth in cylinder or concaves which are bent or 
worn out replaced with new ones, and eccentrics and pit- 
mans gone over and repaired. Every two or three years 
it will need a new coat of paint. When it is in good 
order, cover it with canvas and store it in a dry place. 
If treated in this manner the thresher will last for a great 
many years. 

THE FEEDER. 

If you are not an expert feeder, you will have to start 
slowly and pay attention to the machine. To become a 
good feeder takes long practice. A good feeder keeps the 
straw carrier evenly covered with straw, and keeps also 
an eye on all the rest of the machine, so that he knows 
that the machine is doing and can quickly correct any- 
thing which goes wrong. The stacker and the tailings 



288 The Traction Engine. 

are sure indicators of how the machine works. The 
cylinder ought to be kept full all over its surface and the 
bundles of straw should be tipped well up against the 
cylinder. A bundle is easy to spread and one on each 
side of the machine can be handled. Flat bundles should 
be fed on edge. 

It is advisable for the feeder to examine the forks used 
by the pitcher in order to see that they are tight on their 
handles, as a loose fork in a thresher is a very serious 
thing. Never let any one be used which is not absolutely 
tight on the handle. 



Wei <jJtt pel Bushel of Grain. 



2W 



WEIGHT PER BUSHEL OF GRAIN. 
The following table gives the number of pounds per bushel re- 
quired by law or custom in the sale of grain in the several States: 



Arkansas 

California 

Connecticut .... 
District of Columbia 

Georgia 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Louisiana 

Maine 

Maryland 

Massachusetts . . . 

Michigan 

Minnesota 

Missouri 

Nebraska 

New York 

New Jersey 

New Hampshire . . 
North Carolina . . . 
North Dakota . . . 

Ohio 

Oklahoma 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania .... 
South 'Dakota . . „ . 
South Carolina . . . 

Vermont 

Virginia ...... 

West Virginia . . . 
Wisconsin 



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60 
60 
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60 
60 
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60 
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60 
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60 
60 
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60 
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60 
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60 
60 
60 
60 
60 
60 
60 
60 
60 
60 
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19 



INDEX. 



Air -valve for gasoline engine, 

211 
Alcohol, 193 

Alkalies as scale preventatives, 66 
Aultnian Co. traction engine, 135 

Bab itt I xg bearings, 279 

Band cutter, 266 

Battery, test of, 223 

Beater for threshing machines, 256 

Belts, how to lace, 283 
' • how to run, 283 
" power transmitted, 282 

Blast furnace gas, 191 

Blower, description of, 95 
11 use of, 96, 97 

Boiler, blowing out of, 62 
u cleaning of, 64 
" cleaning of flues in, 68 
" description of, 60, 86, 143, 

158 
" how to fire coal in, 87-91 
" how to fire wood in, 92 
" pressure of, 70 
" scale in, 65 
" straw-burning, 82-86 
11 testing of flues in, 76-81 
" why grates burn out in, 93 

Box, how to fix a hot, 116 

Bridge, how to cross a bad, 129 

Buffalo Pitts traction engine, 153 



Clark steam pump, 57-59 
Coal-gas, 190 
Coal-oil, 193 

Colean traction engine, 151 
Compounding, action of, 15 
Concaves, 255, 256 
Cycle, definition, 188 
" the "Otto," 188 
Cylinder, action -of steam in, 
11-13 
" balancing of, 285 
" cocks, use of, 112 
" cooling of, 199 
" description of an inter- 
nal combustion en- 
gine, 198 
" position of, 203 
1 ' threshing machine, 251- 
255 

Dead centre, how to find, 107 
Diagrams of crank pressure for 

single and double engine, 139 
Double engines, advantage of, 138- 

141 
Draw-bar, 159 

Eclipse traction engine, 131 
Economv of high steam pressure, 
16 

Electric batteries, test of, 228 



291 



292 



Index. 



Engine, gas and gasoline, 180-216 
" knock in, 103 
" precautions in starting, 

118 
" steam, 98-116 
Engineer, duty of, 33-36 
Exhaust valve on gasoline engine, 

211 
Explosions, cause of, 31 

' ' how to avoid, 20 

Fan, 262 

Feeding of a threshing machine, 
287 

Fireman, duty of, 87-97 

Flues, leaky, 76-81 

Friction clutch, action of, 14 

Fuel for internal combustion en- 
gines, 190-193 

Fusible plug, 73-76 

Gasoline, 191 

" engine, how to run a, 

217-234 
" piping, 209 
" pump, 207 
" tank, how to fill, 192 
" tank, location of, 192 
" valve, 210 
Gauge glass, 22 

" replacing of, 29 
" " testing of, 23-27 
Giant traction engine, 142 
Governor, description of steam, 
40, 41 
for gasoline engine, 

205 
hit and miss principle, 

206 
trouble with steam, 37 
Grain auger, 263 
" cleaner, 259 



Grates, why they burn out, 93 
Grease cups, how to attach, 115 

Hart and Parr gasoline traction 

engine, 240 
How to cross a bad bridge, 129 
How to get out of a hole with 

a traction engine, 124 
How to run a traction engine over 

a sandy road, 130 
Huber traction engine, 158 

Igniter, testing, 227 

" the "Otto," 213-216 

" troubles, 230 

Ignition, electric, 185 

open flame, 184 
" tube, 184 
Induction coil, 186 
Injector, description, 51 
" Eberman, 54 
" Penberthy, 52, 55 
" troubles, 54 
Internal combustion engine, 180- 
216 

Lead, definition, 104 

Link gear, how to use, 125-128 

Lubricating oil, 113, 218 

" in cylinder of gaso- 
line engine, 203 

Natural gas, 190 

Oil, device for cooling of, 242 
" for gas or gasoline engine, 

218 
" lubricating, 113 
Oiling, device for crank rod pin, 
196 
" device for main bearing, 
195 



Index, 



293 



Otn> cycle, 188-190 
11 gasoline engine, 193 
" gasoline traction engine, 230 

PACKING rings for internal com- 
bustion engine, 196 

Port Huron traction engine, 161 

Premature ignition, 204 

Producer, gas, 191 

Pump, Clark. 57-59 

cross-head, 42-47 
testing gasoline, 225 
troubles, 48-50 

Reeves traction engine, 146 
Reversing lever, 14 

Safety plug, 73 

Sandy road, how to run a traction 

engine over, 130 
Screen, 261 
Self-feeder, 266 
Separating grate, 256 
Sieves, 261 
Spark coil, 230 
Stacker, 264 

Starting a gas or gasoline engine 
at low temperature, 
233 
1 ' a new engine, 17 
Steam, action of, in cylinder, 11 

" gauge, 69 

" gauge test, 72 

" temperature of, 56, 114 

" use of various cut-off, 125 
Straw-burning boiler, 82 
Straw-racks, 258 

Tailings, auger, 263 



Tank, construction of water, 61 
filling of gasoline, 192 
u location of gasoline, 192 
Temperature in cylinder of inter- 
nal combustion 
engine, 187 
1 ' of cooling water, 202 

" of steam, 56, 114 

Threshing machine, 246-268 

" rig, how to run a, 269- 
288 
Throttle valve, use of, 120 
Traction engine, gasoline, 235-245 
1 ' general descrip- 
tion, 11-16 
" " how to handle, 

118-130 
Try cocks, use of, 23 

Valve, air, for gasoline, 212 

' ' description of Port Huron , 
163 
exhaust for gasoline en- 
gine, 211 

u for changing single en- 
gine to compound, 150 

" setting reversible engine, 
110 

" setting single engine, 106 

Water, cooling device for gasoline 
traction engine, 239 
" supply, 42-59 
Weight of grain per bushel, 289 
Wind-stacker, 248 
Wire test for faults, 229 
Wrist-box, 100 

" " brasses, 100 
" u brasses, taking up wear 
of, 101 



ENGINEER'S HANDY-BOOK. 

CONTAINING 

FACTS, FORMULA, TABLES AND QUESTIONS 

ON POWER, ITS GENERATION, TRANSMISSION AND MEASUREMENT; 
HEAT. FUEL AND STEAM; THE STEAM-BOILER AND ACCESSORIES; 
STEAM-ENGINES AND THEIR PARTS; THE STEAM-ENGINE IN- 
DICATOR; GAS AND GASOLINE ENGINES; MATERIALS, 
THEIR PROPERTIES AND STRENGTH: 

TOGETHER WITH A 

DISCUSSION OF THE FUNDAMENTAL EXPERIMENTS IN 

ELECTRICITY, 

AND AN EXPLANATION OF 

DYNAMOS, MOTORS, BATTERIES, SWITCHBOARDS, TELE- 
PHONES, BELLS, ANNUNCIATORS, ALARMS, Etc., 

AND ALSO 

RULES FOR CALCULATING SIZES OF WIRES. 

BY 

STEPHEN ROPER, Engineer, 

AUTHOR OF 

" Roper's Catechism of High-Pressure or Non-Condensing Steam-Engines," 
"Roper's Hand-Book of the Locomotive," "Roper's Hand-Book of 
Land and Marine Engines," "Roper's Hand-Book of Modern 
Steam-Fire Engines," "Young Engineer's Own Book," 
"Use and Abuse of the Steam-Boiler," "Ques- 
tions and Answers for Engineers," etc. 

FIFTEENTH EDITION. 

REVISED AND GREATLY ENLARGED BY 

EDWIN R. KELLER, M. E., 

AND 

CLAYTON W. PIKE, B. S, 

Ex-President of the Electrical Section of the Franklin Institute. 



PHILADELPHIA : 
DAVID McKAY, 

€>10 Soiatti Washington Square. 
1905. 



PRICE, POSTPAID, $$.50. SE.XD FOE CIRCULARS. 



FEB 15 1905 

ROPERS 
Practical Hand -Books 

For Engineers and Firemen. 



NEW REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION. 

HANDY-BOOK FOR STEAM ENGINEERS 

AND ELECTRICIANS. 

PRICE, $3.50. 

PRICE. 

Roper's Catechism for Steam Engineers and Electric- 
ians, $2*00 

Roper's Questions and Answers for Steam Engineers 

and Electricians, . 2*00 

Roper's Hand-Book of Land and Marine Engines, • 3*50 

Roper's Care and Management of the Steam Boiler, 2,00 

Roper's Use and Abuse of the Steam Boiler, . . . . 2.00 

Roper's Young Engineers' Own Book, 2*50 

Roper's Hand-Book of the Locomotive, 2*50 

Roper's Instructions and Suggestions for Engineers 

and Firemen, 2,00 

Roper's Hand-Book of Modern Steam Fire Engines, . 3,50 

DAVID MCKAY, Publisher, 

610 South "Washington Square, Philadelphia. 



Complete Descriptive Circulars Mailed Free on Application. 
Send for them. 



TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION. 

Important New Series of Practical Volumes. Edited by PAUL N. HASLUCK. 
With numerous Illustrations in the Text. Each book contains about 160 pages, 
crown Svo. Cloth, $1.00 each, postpaid. 

Practical Draughtsmen's Work. With 226 Illustrations. 

Contents. — Drawing Boards. Paper and Mounting. Draughtsmen's Instruments. 
Drawing Straight Lines. Drawing Circular Lines. Elliptical Curves. Projection. 
Back Lining Drawings. Scale Drawings and Maps. Colouring Drawings. Making a 
Drawing. Index. 

Practical Gasfltting. With 120 Illustrations. 

Contents. — How Coal Gas is Made. Coal Gas from the Retort to the Gas Holder. 
Gas Supply from Gas Holder to Meter. Laying the Gas Pipe in the House. Gas 
Meters. Gas Burners. Incandescent Lights. Gas Fittings in Workshops and Theatres. 
Gas Fittings for Festival Illuminations. Gas Fires and Cooking Stoves. Index. 

Practical Staircase Joinery. With 215 Illustrations. 

Contents. — Introduction: Explanation of Terms. Simple form of Staircase — Housed 
String Stair: Measuring, Planning, and Setting Out. Two-flight Staircase. Staircase 
with Winders at Bottom. Staircase with Winders at Top and Bottom. Staircase with 
Half-space of Winders. Staircase over an Oblique Plan. Staircase with Open or Cut 
Strings. Cut String Staircase with Brackets. Open String Staircase with Bull-nose 
Step. Geometrical Staircases. Winding Staircases. Ships' Staircases. Index. 

Practical Metal Plate Work. With 247 Illustrations. 

Contents. — Materials used in Metal Plate Work. Geometrical Construction of Plane 
Figures. Geometrical Construction and Development of Solid Figures. Tools and 
Appliances used in Metal Plate Work. Soldering and Brazing. Tinning. Re-tinning, 
and Galvanising. Examples of Practical Metal Plate Work. Examples of Practical 
Pattern Drawing. Index. 

Practical Graining and 3Iarbling. With 79 Illustrations. 

Contents. — Graining: Introduction, Tools and Mechanical Aids. Graining Grounds 
and Graining Colors. Oak Graining in Oil. Oak Graining in Spirit and Water Colours. 
Pollard Oak and Knotted Oak Graining. Maple Graining. Mahogany and Pitch-pine 
Graining. Walnut Graining. Fancy Wood Graining. Furniture Graining. Imitating 
Woods by Staining. Imitating Inlaid Woods. Marbling: Introduction, Tools, and 
Materials. Imitating Varieties of Marble. Index. 

Other Volumes in Preparation. 

DAVID McKAY, Publisher, Washington Square, Philadelphia. 



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